Half Life Animus: Echoes
by Titen-Sxull
Summary: Sequel to Half-Life Animus. The story follows Julian Miles assassin and son of Desmond Miles as he and the Resistance struggle against the evil Combine Empire.
1. Chapter 1: Singularity

Author Notes: The Following is a sequel to a Cross-Over I did called Half-Life Animus. The basic premise is that the story combines Assassin's Creed and Half-Life 2. It is the future, the Combine controls the Earth and what's left of the Assassin Order are part of the Resistance against the Combine.

Chapter One: Singularity

Julian Miles opened his almond colored eyes. The blue sky above him, once so inviting, now seemed piercingly bright. Agony rocked his body. He tossed his head back and forth trying to shake the spider-webs from his mind as pulses of pain pummeled him time and time again. He started to feel then, sensation returning to his skin. There was warmth and wet beneath him, a pool of blood collecting, rushing from some unseen wound. He could see the beast, the creature that had done this to him, shuffling on broken legs some distance away. The assassin had done catastrophic damage to the creature's carapace as well as severing several legs and gushes of goldenrod blood poured from the alien insect as it finally gave out.

Julian had more important things to worry about, like stemming the flow of blood from his ribcage. The wound was deep and located in a place at the base of his ribs where it would be difficult to keep pressure. Still he considered himself fortunate as she struggled to get to his feet. The Antlion had missed his vital organs in the exchange leaving him bleeding and battered but not fatally wounded. The assassin spent little time reveling in his victory. More shapes were moving just beneath the surface of the sand - more bugs.

The young assassin had to move and quickly but he found himself more than a little dizzy from the loss of blood as he raced across the open sand leaving a crimson trail. He had trained his entire life to be a survivor, a fighter, athletic and able to endure almost anything. His feet were quicker than most men, even faster than most Assassins, those that remained anyway. But now it seemed he had met his match.

Antlions had been imported to Earth by the Combine though little was known about why or where they had originated from. They typically lived in colonies deep underground but for several months out of the year they migrated closer to the surface, typically drawing close to coastlines and water sources in source of prey to bring back to their larval young. Julian Miles was trying desperately not to become that prey. He'd spent his life fighting tooth and nail against intelligent enemies. He'd stood in the trenches of a war against an alien race far superior in intellect to man and yet here he was in danger of being snuffed out by some overgrown ants.

Julian came to a quick halt as several Antlions emerged from the sand in front of him. The assassin had to think quickly. He reached into his pocket trying to keep his other hand firmly against the grievous wound that still seemed intent on spurting blood. He grabbed a spherical object from his pocket and quickly thrust it against the ground. The area filled with a fine mist that he hopped would buy him some time. But the Antlions were insects in more than just name, they didn't breathe the way a human being does, and they spent their lives underground feeling for the slightest vibration. The smoke gave THEM the advantage.

Julian realized his mistake as an armored claw burst through the smoke toward him. He deftly dodged the potentially deadly danger simultaneously slicing away the claw with an eighteen inch blade that extended from the top of his gauntlet. At the flick of a small switch the spring-loaded mechanism extended the blade and the rapid assassin cleaved the claw in two listening to the Antlion hiss in pained protest. He darted away from the smoke and headed toward a nearby rock formation just a few hundred feet from where he stood in the sand. Despite battling fatigue and the constant pain created with each step he remained focused, his eyes set on the safety of the rocks and his ears set on the hissing of his enemies.

They were right on his heels the whole way but soon enough the spry assassin was lifting himself onto the solid rocks. He batted down an Antlion that was brave enough to emerge from the sand slicing through one of its wings to send it hissing and limping back into the tunnels. Others rose up to replace their fallen comrade each trying to take a last swipe at Julian. The next nearly removed his head but the assassin was too quick even for an insect attacker but as he swatted it away with his blade another Antlion managed to get in a hit slicing at his left shoulder. Luckily the assassin had remembered to wear at least some armor and though the kinetic force of the blow pained him he kicked the creature away lifted his silenced USP and put two rounds into it before it hit the ground. The other Antlions were either uninterested or demoralized and the sand beneath the assassin now lay still.

The assassin lay atop one of the rocks trying to catch his breath. Exhaustion was overtaking him now and the adrenaline of battle, the release of energy that had fueled his escape, was wearing off. The crash was coming. Words of warning echoed in his head, the voice of Adrian Shephard, the concerned expression that had been on the face of his oldest friend. Adrian had always tried to convince him that going it alone on missions wasn't smart but lately the man had stepped up his efforts. Shephard had warned him about the Antlions. The only other choice would have been to take a more direct land route but that, Julian knew, was equally suicidal. The Combine had guards posted everywhere, protecting a VIP prisoner and, more importantly, guarding intel that could prove valuable to the Resistance. The only place unguarded by the Combine was the beach but that, it seemed, had its own guardians.

Julian removed his backpack and struggled to find what he needed. He cleaned the wound as quickly as he could barely able to remain conscious as he patched it up the best that he could eventually sewing it together with needle and thread. He laid on the rock a bloody mess hardly able to believe he was still alive. His mind wandered now, trying to escape the pain by hiding itself away in memories that flooded in unabated. Images of his Father shockwaved their way across the synapses in his brain. Desmond Miles, famed assassin who had led the Resistance to the edge of victory, now a weak and tired old man not even able to walk on his own two feet.

A pang of guilt coincided with a wave of physical pain when the assassin considered why his Father was the way he was. In many ways it was Julian's fault - it was Julian who Desmond was trying to save. If Julian hadn't been captured Desmond would have had no reason to attempt to use the Pieces of Eden that had sapped his strength to the point of almost killing him. For a moment the young assassin thought he saw another image but this one seemed beyond his mind, almost real. The image of a man in a blue suit - Julian tried to keep his mind focused but the image dissipated before him as he faded from consciousness and finally succumbed to his weariness.

Jara watched Allison pacing the hallway with passing amusement. Despite being barely twenty-two years old the young woman appeared to have a massive weight on her shoulders as she shuffled along the corridor with her brow furrowed. She'd been getting the run around all morning from various military sources and officials who she knew within the city but none had been able to give her a straight answer as to why Julian was missing. Allison had been directed, after a great deal of effort and complaining, to General Shephard. Jara had helped her in her quest but always with a calm attitude that was common for the stoic assassin. She hadn't always been that way but since moving from the arctic she'd seen quite a bit more combat. For some reason the constant threat from bullets and blades made her more mellow which, to any who cared to look at it logically, seemed entirely counterintuitive.

"Would you relax," Jara chuckled, "When was the last time you saw him?"

"Two days ago," Allison groaned, "He didn't mention a mission, it's not like him to-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Jara scolded, "This is EXACTLY like him."

"You're right," Allison admitted offering a shrug of defeat, "I just wish he would tell me."

"He probably thinks you'll just worry," Jara said softly.

"And disappearing without telling me doesn't make me worry?"

"You got me there," Jara said honestly feeling sorry for her

Jara didn't know all that much about Allison but from what Julian had told her she had been the victim of some Combine experiments that had left her personality fragmented. Only after years spent away from her Combine masters, in the company of friends, had she been able to recover and begin to lead a semi-normal life. Just a year after the fall of Golgotha another blow had nearly plunged Allison back into darkness. Michael Cameron, the man who'd rescued her from the Combine to begin with, was killed in a firefight with Combine forces.

Jara felt a sympathetic pang that this poor girl now had Julian's erratic behavior to deal with. The assassin was a good person and his heart was in the right place but Jara knew his impulsive nature and tendency to take off on missions on his own. Just a few months earlier Julian had returned from a month of absence. He'd spent the Winter months on a mission to recover relics which he believed would be Pieces of Eden from the belly of a ship buried in arctic sea ice. When he arrived he found the ship gone, cleared out by the Combine. Jara had helped him hunt down the contents of the Borealis along with the assistance of members of the European Resistance. The female assassin had been there when Julian promised Allison to never go out on another secret mission. Yet here they were, a warm spring day in Mid-April, with Julian apparently on his own self-appointed mission, alone.

The door to the General's office at last opened and the familiar voice of Adrian Shephard beckoned the two women to enter. The General was in his mid-forties with graying buzz-cut hair and a clean shaven face that revealed more than a few scars. He eyed the two with his blue-green eyes as they sat down. He'd been dreading this meeting since a few days earlier when Julian had revealed his plan to Shephard. Shephard did his best to remain stoic and calm but to Jara, trained as an assassin, the signs of nervousness were all too noticeable.

"What brings you two here?" Shephard asked, "Want to volunteer for the night watch, Combine bastards have been shelling the suburbs again."

"You know what brings us here Shephard," Allison said slamming her fist down but her visage softened when Jara put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sir," Jara started, "You know I respect you and your command but Julian promised her, goddamn it he promised US. He can't keep doing this."

"I know," Shephard admitted to the surprise of both of them, "He's so damn stubborn, just like his Father."

"Sir," Jara said narrowing her eyes, "Where is he?"

Julian could see that the sky above him was filled with pink and orange clouds as he returned to the land of the living. For a moment he thought the sights above him were some Heaven he had been rewarded with but he quickly realized that he was very much alive. Pain rolled across his body as he sat up, his muscles were fairly stiff and each bump and bruise only added to the awkwardness of motion as he got to his feet and surveyed the area once more. He could see the smoke in the distance, smoke that advertised the location of the Combine encampment. They were moving the prisoner inland, likely toward the nearest Combine prison colony.

The Empire took more risks now openly flaunting their resources to the suffering Resistance. Often times banquet trains filled with food were derailed purposefully, luring soldiers and innocent civilians alike, only to be slaughtered, cut down by the pulse canon of a Strider or taken as slaves to the Combine. Even worse was the new division of Combine soldiers. They called them HUDS. They wore special armor over their bodies, armor that could deflect bullets but it wasn't what they wore that set them apart, it was what they didn't wear, helmets. Resistance soldiers that had once fought beside them on the frontlines were often conscripted, stripped of their personalities and experimented upon until they became the new soldiers of the Combine Overwatch. Shooting a faceless soldier was easy but when the face looking back at you was your own friend, your own ally, it made it that much harder to pull the trigger first.

Julian cast aside any thought that it might be a trap and climbed down from the rocks. He held his XM-8 closer now hoping to be ready if any Antlions decided to spring from the sand. He knew now that the decision to go it alone was a bad one but it was one that made him responsible only for himself and he liked that feeling. He'd gotten too many men and women killed, too many had given their lives to see him free of the Combine, to keep him breathing others had to die.

His feet touched the soft sand and he took his first tentative steps along the beach. Nothing happened. The assassin struggled to listen for the telltale vibrations of the tunneling Antlions but the crash of the waves upon the shore and the cry of gulls overhead made it increasingly difficult. Even the skilled ears of the assassin might have missed the sound. After five hundred yards without any trouble the assassin relaxed a bit. He remained on guard but now his attention would be turned more toward human enemies. The Antlions seemed to have settled down more than a little. Julian took the next mile or so of beach slowly trying to stay on rocks, boulders and whatever debris he could find. The water had receded greatly since the arrival of the Combine and boats that had once been on the water now sat on the beach rusting. Even more impressive were the shipwrecks uncovered by the receding shoreline, sometimes ships decades or even centuries old were now sitting on dry land.

The assassin's sharp eyes caught sight of something ahead. At first he thought it might have been a Combine trap. He took out his binoculars and studied the surrounding area looking for the telltale signs but no tripwires, headcrab shells or snipers seemed to be in the area. Yet he could think of no other explanation for the massive hole in the sand that lay in front of him. Something had dug down in here, something big and as the ground began to shake Julian began to realize why there hadn't been any Antlions around.

The creature's massive legs emerged first. Each one measured at least the length of Julian's body if not more. Its red shell covered its more fleshy layers beneath as the behemoth reached the surface. It was a full two feet taller than Julian and despite having no visible eyes it instantly began moving in his direction. Julian lifted his XM-8 assault rifle and switched the selective fire switch to automatic before opening fire. He made sure to run away as he opened up on the towering insect. He'd heard about these things, guardians to the Antlions that were sometimes referred to as Myrmidons.

Despite having the advantage of size the Myrmidon was much slower than its Antlion brethren and its weight and lack of wings precluded it from taking flight. Still Julian found it difficult to keep himself beyond the reach of the charging monstrosity. The creature let out a horrific roar far more frightening than the high-pitched hiss of the Antlions before rushing headlong toward the sprinting assassin forcing Julian to dodge this way and that to avoid being crushed. Walking was painful enough given his wounds but sprinting made every step agony. The assassin had set all that aside and made himself steel, instinct brought him to a painless state, a state of pure adrenaline driven survival. It wouldn't last long however and damaging the creature was an afterthought compared to staying out of its reach.

Julian tried his best though, turning and shooting watching as most of the bullets bounced off of the hardened shell. Those that found their mark drew gobs of green blood but failed to slow the creature. If anything his attempts seemed to enrage the animal further and soon he found himself with his back against a rock wall facing the alien insect head on. The assassin took several deep calming breaths preparing his body to hopefully do the impossible. The demon roared ready to smash him to bits against the jagged rocks that sat behind him. Julian extended both of his blades, eighteen inches of steel from each gauntlet.

In the Antlion Guard rushed as fast as its four massive legs would carry it. Julian saw those legs, watched them pound against the ground and felt an imperceptible smile emerge on his lips. He slid down just as the Antlion Guard reached him stabbing his two blades into the thighs of the creature and nearly having his head removed by the massive beasts body as it writhed in agony. He didn't stop - his momentum carried him beneath the creature's body where his blades continued their work cutting along its vulnerable underbelly. The monster pounded its body into the ground trying to crush the enemy that had so badly injured it. But Julian wasn't under it anymore, he was behind it finishing off his extended XM-8 magazine and pulling out his pistol. He spent every last round he had, reloading each weapon several times and always staying one step ahead of the creature, its mobility incredibly limited by the damage he'd done to its legs. Finally exhausted and filled with over a hundred bullet wounds the Myrmidon lay still letting out one last groan.

Julian collapsed to the sand beneath him watching the corpse of the Antlion Guard open up. Spores began to waft into the air filling the area with tiny spheres that all seemed to emanate from one sphere that was attached to the Myrmidon. The assassin assumed it as some sort of sweat gland, perhaps one that might attach Antlions. The entire area was choked with spores and Antlions began to tunnel up from below. Julian turned his weapon on them thinking they came to avenge their protector only to see them react to the spores by stopping in their tracks. It seemed the spores had some manner of control over them, moving them into a trance of sorts.

"Looks like you're not mindless after all," Julian remarked grabbing the pheropod sphere from the Myrmidon's body and approaching the Antlions cautiously,"Strength in numbers."

Allison had a decision to make. On the one hand she could allow Julian to have his fun and possibly get himself killed or captured by the Combine. On the other hand she had her own Hazard Suit and despite a natural distaste for battle she had to admit she didn't lack the ability to take life. The Combine had created her, after all, and it had seemingly been a part of their plan to include ancestors in her genetic make-up that had seen combat, war and death. She'd been forced to relive much of that when the Combine had forced into the Animus years ago. For days on end she relived the lives and often the deaths of her ancestors. She wasn't afraid to die again especially if it meant rescuing Julian from his own stupidity.

A feeling struck her then, like lighting racing through her fragile mind, keeping her from putting on her specially designed HEV suit. She could hear something somewhere in her mind, the sound of a rhythmic pulse, the sound of a single heart beating. She knew not the meaning or the source, perhaps Julian was alive or perhaps he had died. She soon found herself lying on the bed with tears in her eyes. With her mind swirling it wasn't long before the call of the Sandman entered her tired mind and she retreated into the world of dreams.

Julian watched the Overwatch soldiers make their way around the camp. There were more of them than he'd thought there would be, two dozen Overwatch, two Elites and a dozen HUDS. He felt his muscles tightening in anticipation of getting to fight again but the pain of his earlier injuries told him that rushing into battle was not wise here. This fact became especially apparent when a Hunter Synth crashed into the Combine camp. This was going to be interesting. The assassin turned to his silent insect friend patting the Antlion on the head and holding his pheropod close.

He decided that the Synth would be his responsibility and he readied himself accordingly. He approached the camp silently, with swift feet racing making him nothing more than a whisper through the trees. A motion sensor along the camp would have told them he was coming, it would have if he'd managed to trip it but the motion sensor failed to take into account the trees which the assassin now sued to move closer to his target. Death had come to this Combine camp. The assassin sat in his leafy perch watching as a single patrolman came near before he reached down with his gauntlet blade and ended the life of the unfortunate soldier. Down he slipped just low enough to grab the dead soldier's AR2 Pulse Rifle. The other Combine soldiers were oblivious but the Synth had detected something strange and Julian watched it closely as it ambled toward his hiding place. He made sure the grenade launcher was loaded and took aim. Just as the Hunter's infrared vision caught sight of him he let lose a Dark Energy grenade. The orb cut its way through the leaves but struck the ground harmlessly to the left of the slippery Synth.

The cat was out of the bag now and Julian tossed a pheropod at the nearest Combine soldier watching the man swarm with spores. Soon enough the ground beneath the camp rumbled and a familiar hissing filled the air as Antlions emerged taking aim at the Combine soldiers. Gunfire rang out as did screams as powerful claws cut through Combine armor and more than a dozen Antlions invaded the confines of the camp.

Julian had no time to declare victory however. The Hunter was still on him as several flechettes landing nearby reminded him of what he was facing. The projectiles detonated a few seconds later but the assassin was already on the move. He'd dove straight for the Hunter and managed a few slices on its synthetic skin with his blades before being shunted aside by its powerful body and kicked by one of its legs. Julian spun away firing off several pulse rounds with the AR2 before taking cover behind a nearby tree trunk and listening as several flechette rounds burrowed into the bark before exploding. At this point the assassin was just begging for the day to end but with his mission still looming and the deadly Hunter barreling toward him he had a ways to go before he could rest again.

Julian dived out of the way as the Hunter charged past and managed to get several of his Antlion minions between him and the Hunter before it could open fire. There were few Antlions left and Julian found himself dodging gunfire as well as keeping the Hunter at bay. He lunged at the nearest Combine soldier tempting the Hunter to fire and watching as the Synth mercilessly fired its self-detonating darts right into its ally. Julian got stuck with one too but it barely broke the skin of his right forearm and soon enough it was on the ground along with what remained of the unfortunate Combine soldier that was hit with the brunt of the dart burst.

Julian reloaded his AR2 firing off more pulse rounds this time managing to hit more sensitive areas on the Synth. Several direct shots to its eye impaired its vision enough to give him a slight edge though as Julian dived out of range of a nearby Combine Elite's fire he wondered if it would be enough.

"Come out Assassin!" the Elite shouted, "It is OVER! Humanity's time is over! You had your chance to serve the Combine, to serve our rightful masters."

"An Assassin is the master of himself," Julian said.

"Your own creed tells you that isn't true," the Elite growled, "Nothing is true."

"Everything is permitted," Julian said after placing several pulse rounds between the soldier's eyes before approaching his corpse.

The assassin spun on the Hunter but this time he was ready for it and there was nowhere for the sinister Synth to go. The Dark Energy grenade impacted the Hunter consuming it with blinding white flames before removing it from existence entirely. Several Antlions remained but without any enemies left to kill they stood idle at his side. Julian surveyed the area confirming that every Combine soldier there was killed and finding his way to their APC. One soldier lay atop the APC near the AR2 mounted turret - his neck had been pierced by an Antlion claw. Julian opened up the APC and a look of surprise emerged on the fatigued assassin's face at who he found inside.

"Look Allison I'm sure Julian will be fine," Jara said trying to reassure her friend.

"You heard Shephard," Allison disagreed, "Its spawning season for the Antlions. Even if he gets passed the outer guards posted along the beach the camp itself is supposed to be well guarded, it's too much for one man."

"There's something more isn't there?" Jara asked as tears emerged from Allison's brilliant blue eyes.

"Something's wrong with me," Allison said, "I don't feel well and I keep having these dreams, only they happen when I'm not awake."

"Could be a relapse from what the Combine did to you," Jara theorized but Allison was shaking her head the entire time.

"This is something different," she said, "This isn't past memory, at least I don't think it is. There's this pulsing, this beating and then this man comes. I think I've seen him before, he's familiar but he can't be human... he just can't be."

"Who?" Jara asked, "Who can't be human?"

"The man in the blue suit," Allison replied tightening her fists and turning toward her HEV suit which still lay on a nearby table. She stood and approached the suit running her hands over the fabric.

"Where are you going?" Jara asked worried for the woman's wellbeing.

"I'm going to get my boyfriend back."

"Well well well, Julian Miles, what in the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," Julian said taking her hand and helping her out of the APC. He unlocked her cuffs and handed her a Pulse Rifle.

"I really wish I still had my gun," she said with a shimmer in her olive eyes.

"Where's your friend?" Julian asked, "I'm guessing him and his crowbar would be good for getting out of this mess."

"I wish I knew where he was," she said with a distant expression, "That's the thing about Gordon, he's around when you need him but not when you want him."

"There are guards all along the coast," Julian admitted, "But we have the Antlions on our side. I may be deep in the shit but at least I have you Alyx. Alyx? Oh, shit..."

Alyx grabbed hold of Julian and pulling him into the APC as the gunship passed overhead. The assassin cursed himself beneath his breath and breathed a sigh of relief when they weren't spotted. It was only a matter of time before the Combine realized their prisoner was loose. With no alternative the two of them turned toward the Dismal Swamp hoping they could lose their pursuers in the muck and dense forest. For once in his life Julian was glad he wasn't alone but even the Antlions, so strong in the numbers, could be outfought and killed. Strength in numbers wasn't always enough.

They set out as the last of the suns rays disappeared and darkness swallowed them. The air became chilly and the swamp came to life with the sounds of insects and animals alike. After a time the Antlions stopped following them but still it seemed as if a thousand eyes were upon them. They marched on fearful that they were being followed and always vigilant. The assassin and Alyx walked on.


	2. Chapter 2: Swamp Fever

Chapter Two: Swamp Fever

Desmond Miles opened his eyes and felt an amused smile form on his lips when he saw Adrian Shephard pacing to and fro at the end of his bed. For the last few years Shephard had a tendency to worry. His once stoic and hardheaded nature had been replaced by a gentler more anxious attitude which Desmond found infinitely amusing. He sat up slowly in bed letting a monstrous yawn and stretching as best he could. It'd been more than two years since Golgotha and still his bones and muscles ached as if he were in his seventies as opposed to his fifties. He slipped his legs to the side of the bed finally rousing Adrian's attention.

"You're not going to stand up are you?" Adrian asked rushing to his friend's bedside.

"I don't need your help," Desmond chuckled brushing the General away, "I've been feeling much better this past month."

Shephard watched as the old man lifted himself from the bed and took his first tentative steps of the day. Old man - Desmond did look old though Shephard knew it was the work of the insidious Pieces of Eden. Desmond walked into the bathroom and emerged several moments later with different clothes on. Shephard cringed when he realized the old assassin's shirt was on backwards but he kept his mouth shut realizing there were more important things to discuss.

"Time to go back to bed I think," Desmond said panting and taking a seat on the bed, "What brings you here so early in the morning? Sure you aren't here for just me."

"It's your son," Shephard announced thinking Desmond would be angry, "I tried to stop him but he insisted on going. He's lost somewhere along the Virginia coast."

"How I envy his youth," Desmond replied absently, "I wish we had an Animus, with the bleed through I'd be back out there in no time."

"Sir, with all due respect, what should be done about your son?" Shephard asked trying to snap the man out of his trancelike gaze.

"What can be done about him?" Desmond asked, "Nothing! He's always chosen his own path Shephard. He fights for our cause in his own way."

"He's going to get himself killed," Shephard growled grimly, "He's losing the support of the people, we all are."

"What?"

"The people are restless," Shephard explained looking out the window at the bustling streets of City 12, "They thirst for change. All that's changed is that now we are more vulnerable, now we have children, babies, and pregnant women."

"The Combine cannot be defeated overnight," Desmond said.

"Looks like your old friend is here," Shephard said pointing to an entourage of armed individuals storming down the street, "And he brought more of his Templars with him."

"Give Vidic my warmest greetings," Desmond joked.

"And why can you not give them yourself?" Shephard asked turning a confused expression on his old friend.

"Perhaps when I'm feeling more up to it," Desmond replied with a wink, "I'm a bit tired now, my old bones are aching," the old man got a distant expression in his eyes, "Don't worry about Julian, Shephard, he'll find his way home."

The Antlions scattered as the towering titan crashed over the sand toward the tree-line with gears twisting and mechanical brain pulsing. The search had already begun once the target had been made clear. The mechanical creature slipped amongst the trees following a trail of footprints he'd found. They were faint, ever-so-faint and though he didn't know it they were the footprints of an assassin. He lost them several feet in, the trail seemed to vanish. The robot sat on the floor of the forest with its shoulders despondently slumped. Something just ahead of him began to move, a shadow speedy and quick but clearly human shaped slipped ahead of him luring him forward.

A metallic hand pushed aside one tree trunk while bending another out of the way. The orange-red light at the center of his face plate lit up as he came into the clearing. His face panels drooped when he saw the signs of a struggle, the bullet casings and holes in tree trunks and bodies of Combine soldiers. The trail would be a hard one to find but this was no routine tracking, this was Alyx who was missing, Alyx who might need him at her side. The sandy soil beneath his knuckles soon turned to mud as the robotic pet made his way toward the swamps and away from the coast. He turned then thinking that he heard something from behind him, the snap of a twig seemed to betray the proximity of something sinister. His infrared eye aperture zoomed studying the tree line for signs of heat but everything looked cold. He switched visual spectrums but still nothing seemed out of place. Finally Dog turned back toward his original target, back toward the swamp, back toward Alyx.

"He's taken the bait," a shadowy figure said stepping down from the treetops, "He cannot resist finding her."

"He loves her," another feminine figure said but the eyes of her sisters cut her idea down.

"He's programmed," another one corrected leaping down beside them, "A guardian. Little does this hound know he will be the death of her."

"No," the leader, a strange gangly man who seemed otherworldly and stood two feet taller than any of them, interrupted, "She is to be taken alive. You may harm her body but we need her mind to be functioning."

Jara sat in the back of the Hunter Chopper wondering where on Earth Allison had learned to pilot it. The young assassin didn't care all that much but the silent flight had taken several hours and Allison seemed entirely absorbed in her own thoughts. Jara, for the most part, was still worried that they would be court marshaled when they returned to City 12 for commandeering the chopper at the point of a sword, her own sword. She looked at her kris now, the curved blade gleaming in the sunlight.

Allison stared out at the horizon and adjusted their altitude slightly. They were getting close now she knew and only a few more minutes of flying would see them reach the Virginia coast. She knew her actions were hasty and perhaps even stupid but she had grown tired of Julian's self-destructive tendencies. Even when he came home with broken bones and bruises she was still the one to pay the price, emotionally. She'd spent too many nights in a cold bed wondering if the man she loved would return as a corpse. Enough was enough - it was time to put her foot down.

"We're here," Allison announced, "I can see the Ocean. I'm taking her down."

"You sure this is the right area?"

"These are coordinates Shephard gave me. He said the prisoner Julian was looking for was somewhere around here but they were moving her so it wasn't exact," Allison explained, "Oh shit!"

Allison's eyes went wide when she saw the metal monstrosity. She armed the pulse gun and began firing off rounds but the Strider barely flinched. It was too late now - the massive Synth was directly in the path of the chopper. She tired to pull up but it wouldn't be any use. Allison turned to Jara and shouted for the woman to bail out of the doomed craft. The Chopped was spinning out of control as they fled the cockpit and desperately tried to pry the door open. Jara managed to wedge her sword in and get the door open. The sand was still nearly sixty feet below them but there was no choice left open. Out they leapt toward the shore beneath them. The crash of metal tearing into metal blared in their eardrums like a deafening tempest as the Hunter Chopper impacted the Strider. Allison watched the explosion of twisted metal and felt shrapnel cut at her skin as the Strider and Chopper exploded and both began to fall to the sand.

Allison hit first followed by Jara who had attempted to land in a roll. Both women miraculously remained conscious although both had also suffered several lacerations due to shrapnel. They rolled down the incline they were on but soon realized their good luck was about to run out. Combine soldiers rushed towards them alerted by the violent explosion that had rocked the entire area when Chopper hit Strider. There must have been a dozen of them but luckily all were standard Overwatch. Jara was first to her feet and brought her blade to bear knocking aside the nearest soldier's weapon before driving the curved blade right through his armor and into his heart. The young female assassin leapt, avoiding rounds of fire now emerging from the other soldiers, and grabbed the MP7 of her fallen foe and began firing back.

Allison tried to get to her feet but found she was entirely out of breath. Her eyes refused to focus as she fumbled to find her gun. It was laying half buried in sand some twenty feet away. She scrambled to get to it but found her path blocked when a winged insect rose from the sand beneath her feet. She tried to swat the creature away to no avail. It came swinging with sharp blade like limbs that she narrowly avoided. An epiphany flashed in her head and she lifted her arm out toward the creatures. She squeezed a trigger that sat in her hand and watched the Antlion fly backward pushed by a pulse wave of energy from her gauntlet. Whispering quiet thanks to her late friend Michael Cameron she grabbed her gun from the sand and slung it over her shoulder.

Allison remembered that the suit had another weapon built into it. She opened up her other gauntlet checking to see if ammunition remained in the form of throwing knives. Six knives were left. These knives were specially designed to fly straight as arrows and serve as bolts for the gauntlet's built in crossbow system. She rushed over to Jara who was trying her best to stay out of range of the Combine's bullets. Allison took aim at the first soldier and watched as a knife buried itself into his neck toppling him into the soldier beside him and alerting them to her presence. They turned toward her now only to be repulsed by the Pulse Gauntlet. They scattered into the air several of them flying so far they splashed amongst the breaking waves on the shore.

Jara emerged from cover now emboldened by Allison's rousing success and took out the last two soldiers. The two women had little time to celebrate their victory, the beach was alive with movement and the sand beneath their feet told of imminent invasion. With Antlions in hot pursuit they headed toward the forest reaching the tree-line with no time to spare and having to swat down a few bugs with bullets and pulse waves before being able to continue.

"The Combine is still pretty heavily in the area," Allison noted seeing a Drop Ship high in the sky, "They must be looking for Julian."

"And the escaped prisoner," Jara reminded, "Looks like this is turning into a swamp."

The two of them were quickly up to their shins in mud. Despite it only being April the bugs were buzzing proudly and loudly as they made their way deeper into the swamp searching for Julian. Both women questioned the wisdom of any of this and Jara wasn't even sure Julian would have gone into the swamp but they pressed on anyway running on wishful thinking alone.

"Shh... What the hell is that?" Jara asked stopping Allison in her tracks.

"I don't see anything," Allison whispered back but she soon did see it, it was hard to miss in fact. The robotic behemoth moved trees aside and ripped apart roots and vines that threatened to impede its feverish movements.

"That thing is tearing apart the whole swamp," Jara noted, "Probably looking for someone."

"We can't let that thing find Julian!" Allison exclaimed and Jara's eyes scolded her for being so loud, she whispered, "We need to follow it."

Jara nodded her approval though she wondered if they would be able to keep pace with the infernal machine. It seemed to have an unending supply of energy as it penetrated into the swamp with ease that neither of them could rival. The female assassin knew it would be nigh impossible to beat this behemoth to Julian but, as she stopped to notice the path it carved with broken branches, torn vines and bent trees, at least it left a very noticeable trail.

Julian felt weak at the knees as he pulled his legs from the mud and trudged onward. Despite being trained to step lightly over terrain of almost any kind the mud of the Dismal Swamp was almost impossibly thick and diabolically deceptively deep. Alyx seemed to be having an easier time of it, even her prison issue boots were more inclined to this sort of terrain than Julian's traditional assassin's boots which were designed for climbing. The assassin normally would have taken to the trees, there were an abundance of vines and branches to ease his travels, but he wasn't feeling up to it. The cool spring air seemed so unnatural in lieu of the humidity of the swamp and Julian found himself feeling weaker and weaker as he sloshed through another sludge hole.

Alyx walked beside him keeping her eyes on the swamp around them. They knew the Combine would be looking for them both. Alyx was already a heavily wanted escaped criminal and she knew that Julian too would carry a hefty reward for whatever Combine scumbag managed to capture them. Gunships had been passing overhead regularly forcing them to lie low - another reason why Julian could not take to the trees. Alyx wasn't sure what was wrong with the assassin. She'd encountered him before when he'd assisted her and Gordon Freeman in regaining the contents of the Borealis, although it ended up being Julian who saved the day and Gordon who disappeared, yet again. But Julian didn't seem to be himself, lethargic and slow was not the way of an assassin.

"We'll rest here for a while," Alyx said sympathetically, "You look awful."

"Just what every man wants to hear from a beautiful woman," Julian joked lying himself against a nearby rock and shivering.

"You're burning up," Alyx said with her hand to his forehead.

"You're not bad looking yourself," Julian chuckled with a yawn.

"There's something you're not telling me," Alyx accused looking him over before finding a blood stain on the inside of his assassin robe. She had him strip off his robes armor and undershirt revealing the wound he'd sustained against the Antlion. It was swollen and red and thick blood oozed like syrup from the wound, "Jesus fucking Chris, this is infected. How long were you planning on keeping this a secret?"

"It's just a scratch," Julian barked but his tone lost its bite, "I'll be okay, we just have to keep moving. Once we get out of here then I can worry about myself."

"If you say so," Alyx conceded, "Oh shit, gunship!"

The two of them ducked down to the mud as the massive Synth's shadow passed overhead. The sinister hum of the gunship slowly faded allowing them to look up. Alyx went out and quickly found whatever she could for them to eat which consisted of a handful of mushrooms, the only kind she could find that she knew were safe, and some wild onions.

Julian struggled to get moving at first but soon enough he was keeping pace with Alyx once more. He knew he was hurt and he knew that if he got any worse he would be no use to Alyx. In fact even in his present state he felt like more of a liability than an asset to her. She kept glancing back over her shoulder more concerned with his well being than her own security or the risk of being found by Combine patrols that were still sweeping the swamp. They kept walking through the sludge cutting away at strong vines that choked the water and made it hard to walk or lay coiled along the ground waiting to snare the unsuspecting traveler.

The afternoon dragged on and Julian slowed considerably. He kept assuring Alyx that he was fine although the woman knew better. The assassin couldn't keep up and his chills only worsened when the evening breeze swept through the swamp and the clouds brought a light drizzle down penetrating the canopy of the trees to strike the tried twosome.

Finally the sun began to set and Alyx found a place that was sheltered by very dense tree cover and built a makeshift shelter out of intertwined branches. Julian could barely walk now. He collapsed beneath the branches and stared up at them trying desperately to focus his dizzy feverish mind. His vision blurred slightly as he turned to see Alyx trying to start a fire. He mumbled something about there being no need to risk the fire and no way to keep it going if it truly did start to rain. Alyx smiled gently and told him to get some rest.

The assassin stared up at the branches above him and felt bile rising in his throat. His mind refused to sleep, refused his calls to rest and plowed right through just as he had forced himself to plow through the swamp. Splotches of darkness leapt before him followed by patches of color that soon formed themselves into shapes. He recognized one shape as that of the Apple of Eden, now lost to him and in the hands of the G-Man. He reached his hands out as if to grasp the Apple but he found it was nothing more than a phantom. He saw something else then, a pulsating light, red, alive, beating. He reached for the light too but this time someone stood in his way. A Combine soldier, like some strange ghost, stood before him, he waved it away searching for that pulsating red light but now the G-Man stood in his way. He waved him away and watched as the red light transmorphed into Allison, her blue eyes filled with tears. Julian felt fatigue overwhelming him and even the incessant fever of his mind could not resist sleep's call anymore.

"He's slowing down," Jara noted catching sight of the mechanical hound for the first time since nightfall.

"Maybe we're getting close," Allison replied with an exhausted sigh.

"How can you be tired at a time like this?" Jara asked, "The adrenaline of the hunt should be keeping you awake and alert."

"I'm alert!"

"Shhh... down!"

Jara grabbed Allison and pulled her to the ground. The female assassin thought for a moment that her instincts had been wrong. She watched the trees around them looking and listening for the telltale signs of something moving. She could have sworn she'd heard the motions of a nearly silent something amidst the trees. Her suspicions proved correct when one of the creatures fell into the mud below. There were six of them that she could see, each feminine in figure and standing about five and a half feet tall. They were adorned with black armor that had a strange polish that seemed to shift the light and act as camouflage. So long as they were in motion they would remain nearly invisible. They had masks over their faces, some sort of helmet likely with a digital heads up display inside. Jara watched them as they moved off following the trail that the robot had left.

"Who the hell were they?" Allison asked when it was safe to whisper once more.

"Not sure," Jara replied, "But we need to get to Julian and if they are following this robot than we must be on the right track."

Julian felt the warmth of the still smoldering fire as he opened his eyes to the first light of morning. It was still fairly dark but already a pre-dawn hue filled the sky and birds filled the air with their songs. Alyx sat nearby working on breakfast and the assassin offered her a smile of gratitude as he sniffed the air and stretched. She stood up but still found himself a bit dizzy. He propped himself up against the nearest tree and tried to clear his head of cobwebs in preparation for another day of travel. He got into his boots armor and robes and sat down beside Alyx.

"Feeling better?" she asked handing him a bowl, it contained a few shreds of vegetable material and more mushrooms.

"A bit," Julian admitted noticing that she'd done better stitching on his wound and had cleaned it, "Thank you for this."

"You saved me from the Combine," she replied, "I saved you from your own bad sewing. You should have sterilized the needle you know."

"I was bleeding to death at the time," Julian said, "Didn't seem important. What is it?"

"The birds have stopped," Alyx answered grabbing her Pulse Rifle and making sure it was loaded, "Something isn't right."

Julian sprung to his feet when an eight foot tall robot burst through the foliage toward him and Alyx at breakneck pace. He lifted his XM-8 cursing himself when he remembered he was out of ammunition for it and fumbling to find the Pulse Rifle he'd taken off the dead Combine soldiers who'd been guarding Alyx. His eyes went wide when instead of attacking the massive mech Alyx stood up and rushed out to meet it with a warm embrace. Feeling a bit envious that the big bucket of bolts got more affection from Alyx than he did he ambled over to them with a perplexed expression and an itchy trigger finger.

"I can't believe it's really you," Alyx said petting one of the creature's face panels, "Julian, allow me to introduce Dog."

"You know this robot?" Julian asked taking a closer look at this marvel of mechanical engineering.

"Know him? I built him, I've been adding to him since I was little," Alyx explained, "But I'm not sure what he's doing all the way over here."

"Maybe he hitched a ride," Julian reasoned, "He must've missed you something fierce. Honestly I never thought a robot could be both cute and terrifying at the same time. Than again I said the same thing about women, until I met you."

Suddenly Dog began twitch. The robot let out a high pitched whine as if trying to warn them before finally splashing into the mud below. Alyx knelt to help him but found his circuitry was somehow stalled. Even his power source was now cool and lifeless. She felt a surge of sadness and anger turning with angry eyes to search the trees for signs of their enemies. Julian too readied himself. The assassin extended the blades in his gauntlets and reloaded his Pulse Rifle. His sharp eyes studied the area and soon enough a burst of pulse rounds emerged. Using Dog as cover the two of them stood their ground firing off in the same direction as they were being shot from but the offending rounds never came from the same place twice and their enemies remained seemingly invisible.

Julian studied the situation and gunfire came from everywhere. He managed to stay one step ahead of the pulse rounds and, soon enough, identify the patterns of fire. There was more than one enemy for sure although he couldn't pin down the exact number. He used his instincts, honed to perfection, to predict the next move of one target. He fired off several rounds leading the target by just enough to see the rounds strike and to actually catch sight of his opponent. The rounds wounded the figure and it fell from the trees and lay still for a moment before standing up. Julian saw the armored assassin lifting a gun and reacted quickly shooting the weapon from the enemy's hand before leaping away from more bullets.

He turned to a new source of sound - someone else was entering the clearing. His eyes went wide when he saw Jara enter the area and begin firing off an MP7 at the nearest Combine assassin. The rest of them were becoming visible to him now even when moving their fastest he was beginning to pick them out, their uniforms seemed to shoot the light away allowing them to pass almost unnoticed. Almost. The six of them now stood on the ground fully out of ammo. Each of them pulled out a sword from a sheath and stood with blades raised high. They froze in place as if waiting for some kill code to come through from on high but no such call for action came down instead a sickening cackle filled the clearing. Alyx's eyes went wide at the sound for she recognized the voice.

"Surrender is always an option Alyx Vance," the voice, mechanical and deep, announced, "The Combine will not allow you to escape so easily."

"We won't let you take her!" Julian shouted watching the tall figure emerge from the trees to stand before them. It was ugly and Julian was almost certain that it wasn't human. With huge powerful arms that hung down impossibly far and gangly digits it slopped through the swamp toward them. Its mouth was shrouded behind a device of some sort that appeared to be welded to the creature's mouth as if to help it breathe or perhaps to translate into English for them - for certainly its speech sounded artificial and alien.

"The Combine wants you as well Julian Miles," the creature said, "And it shall have you."

"Who does this asshole think he is?" Julian asked stifling his anger with several calming breaths and eyeing the alien up.

"They call him Theron, he's a bounty hunter working for the Combine," Alyx explained before turning toward her enemy, "What's the matter Theron, still jealous that you weren't the one to catch me the first time?"

"If I had been the one I assure you that you would not have escaped," the creature cackled, "I catch for keeps. Do you like the way I used your precious pet against you? Don't worry about him my dear, he's been struck by a mini-EMP that's all, he'll recover in no time... of course you'll be long gone before then."

"Plan?" Julian asked looking to the others.

"Let's fuck this guy up," Allison suggested.

"I can see why you love her," Alyx quipped.

"Take them!" Theron shouted, "Take them all alive!"

Theron's thugs sprang into action swinging their swords towards the group. Julian rushed the one he'd injured earlier hoping it would be easy to get the upper-hand on her. Despite having several bullet wounds on her torso the Combine assassin quickly reacted to Julian's initial attacks deflecting his gauntlet blades with relative ease and even trying several offensive maneuvers of her own. Julian was slow, despite his skill and despite his razor instinct he was still injured and still sick. The Combine assassin swung her sword in for the kill but Julian side stepped the blade and it sliced through the bark of a tree harmlessly. The next swing came quick but Julian leapt over it grabbing onto a tree branch above and using it to swing himself over his enemy to land behind her. She jabbed in with his blades managing to slice her shoulder before she could spin around and stop him from ending her completely.

Jara lifted her MP7 and fired at the nearest Combine assassin. The creature moved so quickly Jara could scarcely keep up let alone keep hitting her with the bullets. Finally Jara's enemy reached her bleeding from a dozen wounds but still somehow breathing. The wounded warrior lifted her blade to strike Jara down. Jara had to move quickly, she unsheathed her sword and tried to plunge it into the Combine assassin's chest only to find the armor too quick. Deftly dodging several sword swipes from a second Combine assassin Jara decided to take a more direct approach with her first enemy and this time stabbed her in the head. The Combine assassin twitched and fell to the ground. Jara barely had the time to free her blade before the next of the bounty hunter's assistants was upon her. Jara avoided the first few swipes but soon felt the cold steel of another blade against the back of her neck. With an assassin in front of and behind her she felt utterly trapped.

Allison turned to help Jara but found she had her own set of assassin's to worry about. The two armored women rushed at her now swinging their swords with abandon. She lifted her gauntlet attempting to fire knives at them. The first projectile glanced off the armor of a Combine assassin while the second struck one of them in the leg with little effect. These weren't ordinary women - they were Synths or at the very least their genetic structure had been altered to make them better killers. A feeling of dread filled her mind. Perhaps, like her, they were composite clones, made up of the genetics of many different people. She used her other gauntlet then firing off the last of her pulse rounds sending one of the assassins flying across the swamp to crash into a tree. So violent was the impact that the assassin's spine shattered as did the sapling she ran into. Allison Rogue wasn't out of danger yet but she was out of weaponry. She tried to fire her MP7 but the assassin cut it in two with her blade and pressed the point against Allison's pale throat.

Alyx was fighting her own battle, trying to hold her on in a fist fight against Theron himself. The creature was strong however but she knew that he would have to hold himself back in order to fight her and keep her alive. She danced around him keeping just out of reach and then moving in to strike to great speed. The bounty hunter was no stranger to speed however and often Alyx got hit. For every two punches she landed he landed one with greater force and tenacity than ten of her own. She felt utterly helpless and that feeling only got worse when Theron grabbed her by the hair and turned her to see her friends. Jara and Allison were at the mercy of the assassins and Julian, although still fighting, was clearly running out of adrenaline fast.

"You have lost," Theron gloated, "You are mine. I'm sure the Combine has wonderful rewards for me. Perhaps I will see my homeworld again."

"Is everyone there an asshole like you?" Alyx asked spitting in the alien's face and drawing close enough to his armor to catch sight of his wristband where several interesting buttons and controls sat.

"Send in the Drop Ship," Theron demanded over the intercom, "I have the prisoners."

Julian soon surrendered when he saw that the others had lost. He felt utterly exhausted and utterly defeated as the Drop Ship emerged overhead. He watched as it hovered there and wondered if he would spend his last days as a Combine prisoner. Perhaps they'd put him back in an Animus or perhaps they would just end his life. His worry for himself gave way to his worry for Allison. She'd spent her entire youth being experimented upon, being tormented by the Combine and their insidious methods of torture. Anger swelled within him. He looked to Alyx and saw something in her expression that told him they weren't about to get on that Drop Ship.

Alyx Vance leapt into action. She grabbed Theron's arm pulling it toward her. With her hands bound in cuffs she struggled to find the button. There it was, marked with a symbol that could only mean one thing. She wasn't sure it would work, after all a Drop Ship was no ordinary machine, but she had to hope. She slapped the button. At first she believed nothing happened, her heart sank lower in that instant than it had since the death of her Father Eli. But then something did happen. The Drop Ship began its descent, it was crashing. She grabbed Julian by the hand and advised them all to grab on to each other as the bounty hunter and his band of assassins looked skyward to see a Drop Ship about to hit them. Theron cursed his luck and cursed the woman who had become the bane of his existence as the Drop Ship crashed down on his head.

The four companions escaped, still bound and bruised, rushing west. They had to put as much distance between them and the Combine as possible. Even if Alyx's quick thinking had killed Theron they wouldn't be home free. As they emerged from the swamp to be beneath clear skies, they wondered if they would ever be home free and if they would ever free their home.


	3. Chapter 3: Primacy

Chapter Three: Primacy

Shephard felt a knot in his stomach as he entered the meeting room and took his seat beside Baron Brown. The Baron, an eccentric man and the mayor of City 12, shot the General an angry glance for keeping them waiting. Shephard shrugged as casually as he could and looked across the table at the sour faces of the three Templar leaders who had arranged this meeting.

The first he recognized as Warren Vidic. Desmond had warned him of the old man who, despite being at least eighty years old, was still one of the leaders of the Templar Order. The second was a woman who Shephard had seen around the City before. Although the General rarely left the side of his troops he had encountered Vera Novosa before. Here in City 12 she ran several public apartment buildings offering free room and board to civilians who had no other place to stay. Her charity was only out done by her beauty. Despite being in her mid-fifties her hair still retained its dark brown color and healthy sheen and her eyes, as green as jade jewels, still shone brightly. Shephard was shaken from his thoughts by the third Templar clearing his throat. The man's name was Richard Smith but despite having so innocuous a name Shephard knew the man was not to be trifled with.

"Sorry I'm late," Shephard said nervously.

"I'm sure it was Desmond who kept you," Vera mused, her sultry Russian accent causing Shephard's ears to perk up.

"I only wish it had been one as beautiful as you," Shephard said with a smile.

"Enough," Vidic demanded banging his elderly fist against the table, "Can we get down to business?"

"What business do you have with my city?" Baron Brown asked playing with one of the illustriously large rings he wore on his fingers.

"It is not your city we have business with Baron," Richard Smith replied, "We have a prior arrangement with someone we believe to be in the city."

"Who?" The Baron asked.

"Julian Miles," Richard replied.

"Well than why didn't you just meet with him?" The Baron complained, "I'm a very busy man, I've got a damned entire city to run."

"Please Baron," Vera said calmly, "If we knew were Mister Miles was we wouldn't have called this meeting. He does not appear to be within the walls of your fair city, or if he is he is hiding."

"What is your business with Julian?" Shephard asked trying to keep his tone from being accusatory.

"The Templars have assisted the Resistance at great risk to our organization," Vidic explained, "It has become ten times harder to keep our men hidden amongst Combine ranks. Do you know we chose to aid you so readily? Because Julian Miles made a deal, he offered me the Apple of Eden in exchange for our help. I have been very patient but it has been more than two years now since that deal. I am here to receive my payment. I want a Piece of Eden."

"You cannot deny that you have some of the Pieces," Vera said with a devious grin, "Desmond himself used them at Golgotha. The deal will be one Piece of Eden and we leave, for two pieces we will offer your city food supplies and more than a thousand fresh soldiers."

"If we refuse?" Shephard asked.

"The boy made a deal," Vidic growled, "I want my Piece of Eden! The Templars will pull every last bit of man-power, every soldier, and every bit of support from the Resistance!"

"With Julian out of town and Desmond to weak to meet us we leave it to you General," Vera cooed, "To do the right thing."

Shephard felt a massive weight on his shoulders. He knew the Pieces of Eden held strange power and had watched Desmond use them on numerous occasions. Shephard himself wasn't an assassin by blood or by creed, he'd sworn no allegiance to them and without the Templars bolstering them the Resistance would be weaker and the Combine could easily gain the upper-hand. With the City filled with newborn children such a tip in the balance of power could be devastating to the Resistance and ultimately to the destiny of the entire human species. Then again, he reasoned, giving the Templars such powerful weapons could potentially backfire. For several moments the dizzying potential consequences of either decision played and replayed in Adrian Shephard's mind until at last he stood.

"You've left me with little choice," Shephard said with his eyes lowered in shame, "I will get you what you requested."

"Like hell you will," an angry voice resounded. Shephard spun to see Desmond standing there without the use of a cane with a sour expression on his more youthful than usual face.

"Sir," Shephard exclaimed, "You're up!"

"Up and better than ever," Desmond remarked, "Not a moment too soon I might add. You were about to give the Templars what they've always wanted."

"You owe us Mister Miles," Vidic reminded, "Many Templars have died for your cause."

"For our cause," Desmond corrected, "For the cause of the human race. Perhaps that's the difference between our two Orders Warren. Your selfish Templar order thinks of nothing but its own power. We fought, Assassin beside Templar, to restore hope to humanity. No Warren, the Pieces stay with us."

"Back stabbing assassin!" Vidic spit, "Have you no fucking honor?"

"I have honor," Desmond replied with a bow, "But you know the Creed."

"Very well Mister Miles," Vera replied putting a calming hand on Vidic's shoulder, "We shall not bother you again about such matters."

The three Templars stood and shook hands with the three Resistance leaders before their escort of Templar soldiers entered to see them out. Shephard sat in his seat with shoulders slumped feeling an overwhelming amount of shame swelling within him. The Baron, sensing the tension between the two of them quickly exited the room with his own escort made up of several beautiful women but very few actual guards. Desmond sighed and sat down beside his friend. Silence indwelled the air for a time until Desmond shattered it.

"Don't beat yourself up about it," Desmond advised patting his friend on the back, "Any man of conscience in your position would have done the same."

"But you didn't do the same," Shephard complained.

"But I'm not in the same position," Desmond countered, "I understand the Templars better than you."

"Do you think they will pull their troops?" Shephard asked.

"They were bluffing to get you to agree," Desmond argued, "If they do pull out of our Resistance they will be weakening themselves. Remember there are far more Resistance members who aren't Templars than ones who are."

"And what about you?" Shephard laughed, "Up and about in front of them! And you look so young again!"

"I look my own age," Desmond corrected, "These past few weeks have been good to me. I think I'm ready to resume active duty as Resistance leader."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," Shephard smiled but his expression quickly turned grim, "The people are getting restless."

Julian moved through the trees with lightning quick feet and silent steps stalking the Combine patrol in the waning daylight. A wispy spring wind was whistling through the trees only further masking his approach. Alyx and the others were likely far ahead of the group now setting up for the inevitable ambush. The assassin had to move quickly as the patrol was nearly out of sight as they sped by. He had never seen these vehicles before but they seemed designed to maneuver into far tighter spaces than the bulky Combine APCs. For one they had only three wheels and were designed for only one rider. They were out of sight now but the track they left was unmistakable.

Julian took a bit of time to catch his breath. Alyx's needlework on his wound had been much better than his initial job but the wound was still infected and without antibiotics Julian feared it would only worsen. He couldn't let that fact slow him down however and, to his relief, his fever had not returned since they left the swamp early that morning. His feet carried him forward now following the trail and hoping Alyx and the others were in position up ahead.

Night was falling over the Dismal Swamp and as darkness swiftly approached something beneath the muck and mud began to move. As if rising from a shallow grave a pale hand reached out of the mud toward the sky. Hours of unconsciousness had been followed by several minutes of digging, tunneling out from under the metallic body of the Drop Ship that had crashed into the swamp earlier that morning. Finally, covered in muck and seething with unholy rage the creature lifted itself to its full height.

The gangly alien heaved deeply taking in the heavy humid air of the swamp. The swamp was alive with sounds, a chorus of insects and birds swirled in the alien eardrums of Theron. The bounty hunter lifted his wrist and hit a few switches on his gauntlet activating a wrist bound light to illuminate his surroundings. He turned toward the wreckage of the Drop Ship that had nearly killed him. He saw the broken bodies of several of his assassin servants beneath the body of the massive Synth. The bounty hunter wasn't one for remorse or sadness, especially when it was humans who had died.

The alien had spent the last decade hunting down humans. What little he knew of their history told him all he needed to know of their nature. Selfish and greedy, malicious and prejudiced, human nature was a disease that needed to be wiped clean of the Universe. It almost pained Theron that the Combine were keeping some humans alive on purpose, putting them through experiments and using them as slaves. In his mind the human race wasn't even fit for slavery. Still, having nearly been killed by a human, he had to admit they had survival skills. Than again, he mused in his own mind, so did bacteria.

Theron turned to see that one of the assassins had survived - she stood with her helmet off revealing steel-blue eyes that seemed almost robotic to the bounty hunter. He offered her a look of contempt and turned away looking for signs of which way his target had gone off.

"They've headed west," the assassin informed him, "I found their trail a few hours ago when I came to."

"And you didn't start to follow it?" Theron growled.

"I wasn't sure what to do," the assassin replied honestly with a look of remorse in her eyes, "I thought it would be better to wait and see if you survived, I-"

Theron cut her short by cutting her throat. One less bacteria. He looked around and it wasn't long until he found some sign that they'd been there even recognizing the soft steps of the assassin. Something moved behind him then, the mud lifted up beneath him and a massive metallic hand clamped around his throat. The beast, Dog, crushed at his throat. Theron lifted his wrist and watched the robotic beast fall once more. He hit another switch on his wrist; this one activated a beacon alerting the Combine to his whereabouts.

"This is Theron, I'm alive, I'm the only Survivor," he said coldly into his communicator which had been built to be immune from the EMP, "Send me a ship."

Julian watched as the Combine soldiers struggled to hold their own even against enemies who were essentially unarmed. They hadn't escaped the swamp with a single bullet to their name yet here they were. Julian moved in while Alyx, Allison and Jara drew the fire of the Combine soldiers. The assassin watched as Jara's expert swordsmanship and agile motions ended the life of a HUD soldier. Jara took his gun and cut down another three soldiers only narrowly avoiding their Pulse Rifle rounds. There were fives soldiers left. Alyx took on one at first trying to use a small knife she had somehow concealed but eventually devolving into a fist fight. Julian felt a smile come to his lips when the drop-dead gorgeous Alyx Vance made the soldier drop-dead.

The assassin moved in for the kill taking aim with his wrist-mounted crossbow. He had only one bolt left and he wanted to make it count. He took aim from his tree branch perch and watched the bolt burrow into the back of the soldier. The Overwatch soldier tried to grab at the dart but Julian had put it in an unreachable position. Allison walked up to the man and threw a slight nod in Julian's direction before punching the patrolman's lights out. Julian dropped down and rushed in hoping to have at it with the last soldier who happened to be a Combine Elite but the three women already had him begging for mercy before he got there.

"I just can't have any fun with you ladies around," Julian complained.

"You had yourself a good run right?" Alyx asked shooting the soldier in the head when his begging turned into an attempt to knife her with a hidden blade.

"I didn't know the Combine used hidden blades," Allison remarked looking to Julian.

"They don't," Julian remarked, "Maybe he's a former Assassin."

"Or the Combine have learned that a simple trick is often the best kind," Jara said checking the man's hand, "He's not one of us, he doesn't have the mark."

"We need to get moving and make camp," Alyx said before turning to Julian who still seemed out of breath, "You alright?"

"Fine," Julian confirmed, "Let's go."

"Where are we going?" Jara asked.

"Nearest Resistance stronghold is a place called Hunter's Fall, its a few hundred miles farther west in the mountains," Julian explained.

"We'll be able to rest there," Alyx said, "Mend our wounds and be safe from Theron."

The group left a few moments later taking the Combine's vehicles with them. The three-wheeled bikes moved fairly quickly, much quicker than feet could carry them over the terrain. They made camp about a mile away in a little valley shrouded in pine trees. The darkness of the night was already full blown and stars filled the sky with dazzling color. They were too afraid to risk a fire although the Combine patrol had been carrying a satchel of snacks that Julian knew were not standard issue for the Combine.

Julian lay beside Allison but she seemed not to respond. Her eyes were locked on the stars as awkward silence overtook them. Julian sighed and Allison offered her own sigh right back. Julian yawned - so did Allison. The assassin grew tired of the games so he did something he knew would get her attention. She spun on him quickly and even in the dark he could feel her angry glare and beautiful blue eyes burrowing into him.

"What?" he asked feigning innocence.

"You pinched my ass that's what," Allison said.

"I was just being playful," Julian defended.

"We're in the middle of the forest in Virginia on the run from bounty hunters," Allison complained, "What makes you think I'm in the mood to be playful?"

"You didn't have to come after me," Julian said but his tone was gentle rather than angry, "I know that I go out on my own a lot but I just don't want you to get hurt. I love you Allison but I have other obligations to. I know you want to be the center of my Universe, and I understand that and in many ways you are but there's more at work in this world than you and I."

"I know that," Allison said laying her head gently on his shoulder, "I understand why you go out. I know why you do what you do but knowing doesn't stop me from worrying. I just got carried away this time. I don't want you to stop fighting for humanity, for the Resistance, for the Assassin Order. I just want you to do it with me at your side."

Julian held her close and kissed her gently as she slowly fell asleep. He turned his head towards the heavens and closed his eyes swearing the starlight was bleeding through his eyelids. He could hear something amidst the whispering spring wind and the sound of insects - a faint pulsation, distant and weak, growing stronger as sleep took him.

Shephard sat slumped over at the bar with a drink in each hand. He rarely if ever left the company of the soldiers under his command and even then he typically hung around in far nicer places than the seediest tavern in City 12 known as _The Headcrab._ He felt truly out of place amidst the rabble of the crowd. Even more out of place were his companions that night who seemed more worried about his wellbeing than their own.

Hassan Aldi was dressed in his full assassins robe though the one he'd decided to wear was black in order to avoid any stains traveling this deep into the city. The shadows of night were far kinder to this particular ensemble and Hassan felt if he needed to he could disappear even in City 12 which had at least 80,000 people living within its walls. Shephard knew Hassan fairly well, these last three years the assassin had helped Shephard learn several knew skills about how to blend in with crowds and free run with the best of them.

Next to Hassan, on Shephard's left, was General Amber Cartwright who, like Shephard, was pounding down drinks like there was no tomorrow. Unlike Adrian she was used to this sort of setting and many of the patrons of The Headcrab had seen her there before. Also unlike Shephard she knew how to hold her liquor and even though she'd drank twice as much as Shephard she was not even half as drunk.

"If we lose the Templars we lose the war," Shephard said with a saddened expression as he emptied another shot glass and asked for more.

"We won't lose the Templars picklepuss," Cartwright reminded taking three shots in the time it took Shephard to take one.

"As hasty as Desmond's decision seems," Hassan reasoned, "It is still the right one. The Templars may be helping us now but if they got hold of the Pieces of Eden they might use them to sway the masses. That is what the Templars are best at and the Pieces would only make them better."

"Hey," Amber said stumbling to her feet, "I'm gonna get out of here, you guys have fun. I'm gonna fucking puke."

"I'll take her home," Hassan said, "Are you going to be alright?"

"I'll be fine," Shephard responded in an unconvincing tone.

"Don't worry," Hassan suggested, "Do not lose hope."

As Hassan left Shephard noted the eyes of the crowd on him, narrowed eyes, and suspicious eyes. He shrugged it off for a moment until a grimy man with yellow teeth and a wiry build got up on stage and stepped up to the microphone. At first Shephard assumed the man would offer a song or perhaps tell a joke but his eyes went wide when he heard what the man was saying.

"Brothers," the man began with a bow, "the time of stagnation will soon come to an end. I know that you, like me, have been sickened by the lack of progress our fair City and our Resistance have undergone under the rule of that bumbler Desmond Miles. The old man is said to be all but dead yet his son Julian is off on a secret mission! These Assassins are scum! They abandon us and our cause to seek their own riches. Julian is off stockpiling wealth for the Assassin Order. Indeed these bastards are insidious, devious and downright dictatorial. They have freed our reproduction here but they leave the rest of our Earth, the rest of our Resistance, in shackles and unable to conceive. I say it is time we cast off these bumbling moronic and tyrannical Assassins and forge ahead with a new leader! There are those amongst us of another Order, a much older Order, a much more honorable Order who-"

Shephard, hardly thinking of what he was doing, pressed the man's throat shut with his hands and shook the man with all his might. He tossed the man off the stage to the bar floor below heaving and huffing as he did. The man stood with a knife in hand ready to cut Shephard but even drunk Adrian Shephard wasn't the sort of soldier to be so readily fucked with. Out stretched the knife ready to pierce his flesh, up came one of his arms, down the other and Shephard, with all his force. The knife dropped and the man recoiled. Dozens of others now sprang up but Shephard, hardly able to stand, wasn't in any condition to fight off a bar full of enemies. The man who had been on staged waved them back while trying to determine if the arm was broken. Satisfied that it wasn't he took up a fighting stance as if this time he would be the victor. Shephard grabbed the man and thrust him against the wall lifting the man up and putting pressure on his collar bone.

"Alright, enough!" the man squeaked, "What do you want?"

"I want to know who's been filling your head with lies," Shephard slurred out, "Who thinks they can replace Julian and his Father?"

"I'm not allowed to tell someone like you," the man replied, "You work for them, if I tell you-"

"WRONG! If you don't tell me that's when you're in the real trouble!"

"There's a man named Emil, Emil Nemico," the man replied, "They aren't lies though Mister. With all due respect we're tired of being tired. We want the world to go back to normal! We want those Combine fuckers out of our atmosphere, out of our whole fucking galaxy."

"We share a common goal then," Shephard said releasing the man, "But we can't get there overnight or by being stupid. Now tell me where I can find Emil Nemico."

"He has a meeting tonight out in the suburbs on the east side," the man replied, "Look if he finds out I spilled the beans."

"He won't be able to do anything," Shephard said, "I'm gonna get you a ride to the Baron's place, you'll be staying there under armed guard."

"I'm going to jail?"

"Not exactly," Shephard explained, "Think of it as the witness protection program, supposing you're old enough to remember what that is. Now when does this meeting take place?"

Shephard crouched in the shadows using every bit of stealth he had to remain concealed. It had taken him more than two hours to make it into the suburbs. Along the way he'd followed a trail of information which he'd coerced out of several soldiers and many seedier individuals. During those hours the General had plenty of time to sober up. He could see the culprits now and though they hadn't identified each other by name at the start of their meeting he easily discerned which one was Emil Nemico. Three of those meeting were dressed in rags, their posture was atrocious and even from his shadow shrouded rooftop perch Shephard could smell them. The fourth member on the other hand stood tall, was well groomed with clean skin and teeth that shimmered even in the dim torchlight that lit the alley. Shephard took measure of the man who looked to be in his mid to late thirties and spoke with a slight accent. The man's cadence and tone seemed melodious as Shephard listened to him talk.

"What information do you bring me?" Emil asked of the first man.

"Vera sent me Emil," the man squeaked, "She wants to see you tomorrow, it's about Desmond."

"What about the old man?" Emil pressed.

"He isn't so sick after all," the first man replied, "He's going to be a thorn in the side of all Templars if he's allowed to continue."

"I though for sure that decrepit old fool would drop dead any day," Emil whispered angrily, "With so many Templars in City 12 he very well might still. What information have you brought?"

"Its Cheng, that damned inventor sir," the second man replied.

"He's missed his payment," the third said.

"That bastard has been late for every single payment," the second man growled.

"What do you want?" Emil asked, "You want my permission to kill him?"

"At the very least maim him," the third man requested.

"As long as I get my money," Emil said, "When will you get it?"

"Tonight," the two men replied simultaneously, "We'll deliver it to you tomorrow, before your meeting with Vera."

"Very well gentlemen," Emil said with a grin, "Soon... soon our Order will be in control again and I will be at the head of that Order. Until next time gentlemen."

Shephard watched the enigmatic man walk away at a swift pace before seeming to vanish into the all enveloping shadows. The General couldn't allow these three cretins to harm anyone and yet he felt compelled to chase after Nemico and learn more about him. Facing yet another uncomfortable moral dilemma Shephard slipped form his perch and began pursuing the three would-be killers through the night. They were quick despite their wiry builds and gangly bodies and in the darkness Shephard could barely see them.

He stopped in his tracks as the three of them scaled the wall of City 12 as if it were nothing. Hoping that he could remember all that Hassan had taught him about free-running Shephard rushed toward the wall leaping up to grab a hand hold. Although slower than the three enemies he was chasing Shephard did make it over the wall. His eyes caught sight of his targets rushing over rooftops some distance away. Shephard took off like a bolt of lighting. Despite being in his mid-forties he covered ground quite quickly managing to keep his quarry in sight without alerting them to the fact he was following. His heart pounded in his ears as at last the chase came to an end with nearly half the City behind him and the sun nearly on its way up. He watched as they knocked at the door to a small house that was clearly built after the Combine invasion and, in fact, after the City had been taken back from the Combine years earlier.

A man answered the door. He was far younger than Shephard had expected, possibly not even out of his twenties, with a blending of Chinese and American features and clearly homemade spectacles aiding his eyes. The man's face bleached white as the three men forced their way inside his home and shut the door behind them. Shephard, still out of breath, approached but found the door locked. He crawled atop the roof searching for entry.

"The boss has had enough of your bullshit Cheng," one of the thugs said approaching the man's work desk and casting aside all of the man's prototypes, blueprints and inventions.

"We want our money," the second thug said pulling out a switchblade knife, "And the boss has given us license to take it however we want."

"Please," Cheng tried to plead, "All I need is a few more days. My invention will turn a profit and it will revolutionize the way we dispose of waste. We'll be able to go back to having clean and running water."

"Money Cheng," the third thug said pulling out a gun, "Nobody gives a shit about your inventions."

"Cheng's a regular DaVinci, isn't he boys?" the thug with the knife laughed.

"Please," Cheng pleaded now on his knees, "Why must you do this! Money isn't worth a life! Haven't you learned anything from the Combine invasion, from the collapse of society, from the fall of all economies and money?"

"Maybe money is worthless everywhere else Cheng but here in City 12 our economy works just fine. There's no reasoning with him boys, cut him."

Shephard burst in through the back door. The thugs turned with eyes wide with surprise trying to get up their weapons in time. The thug with the gun was first to go down as Shephard side-stepped his weapon before he could even pull the trigger and disarmed him by grabbing his wrist. Shephard laid the man out with one punch before turning to the Templar with the knife and tackling him against the wall smashing his arm against the stone walls of Cheng's house. With the knife on the floor Shephard made quick work of the remaining thug and quickly had the gun turned on them.

"Who the hell are you?" One of the thugs asked holding his bloody knuckles.

"I'm General Adrian Shephard," he said and their faces went white with fear, "And you will leave this man alone."

Julian's eyes shot open in an instant of panic as the sound of gunfire filled the air. His hands went to his Pulse Rifle but he soon lowered it when he saw just how insurmountable the odds were. There were nearly two dozen of them each holding an assault rifle or Pulse rifle. Alyx and the others quickly surrendered as well as the raid group began to search their things. These weren't Combine soldiers of any kind, Julian knew, they were dressed in plain clothes although none of their clothing bore Resistance insignia Julian had more than his fair share of suspicions that this group was Resistance.

"You four some kind of new HUD soldiers?" the leader, a woman in her early thirties with hair dyed a strange white color, asked. Julian thought for a moment that he recognized her from somewhere but he shrugged it away.

"What do you think?" Julian asked with ample attitude, he watched the woman's eyes light with anger, "Do we look like Combine to you?"

"You're driving Combine vehicles," another raider pointed out, this one was a big man some six and a half feet tall and built like a tank.

"We stole them," Alyx explained, "We're on the run."

"You're Alyx Vance aren't you?" the leader asked with a smile of recognition spreading across her beautiful, but dirt encrusted, face, "That would mean that he's here right?"

"Who?" Alyx asked honestly confused for a moment.

"Gordon fucking Freeman," Julian whispered to clue her in.

"Gordon isn't here," she replied putting her hands down to shake hands with the leader of the raiders, "But I wish he were."

"Don't we all," the leader replied, "My name is Theta, Theta Prime."


	4. Chapter 4: Broken Walls

**Chapter Four: Broken Walls**

**Desmond drifted through the crowd silently. Every citizen in City 12 knew who he was and what he looked like yet thanks to his assassin skills he was able to wade through the crowd without being seen. Despite this the old man still felt eyes on him as he neared the meeting place where Shephard was waiting. He smiled when he recalled his old friend's reaction when he revealed that they would be meeting in a public place. Shephard had tried to talk him out of it and, had Shephard been in the same room, Desmond suspected the man would have tried to physically restrain him.**

**The elder assassin slipped out of the crowd for a moment stopping at a street vendor to get himself something to drink. The vendor was the first person all day to recognize who he was though the man didn't say anything as Desmond drifted down the street and back amongst the masses. Desmond had thought being out amongst the people for the first time in ages would fill his heart with hope. Instead he saw their struggles first hand. Parents tugged toddlers along as they bustled in the streets. Those children that could walk were the first generation of babies born in City 12 but many citizens held even smaller children and Desmond had lost count of the number of pregnant women he saw. He did manage a smile, seeing youth return to the world summoned some hope. A cool spring breeze stole that from him as he came upon a dead child no more than a few months old lying discarded in the streets. He knelt down towards the body feeling an overwhelming sadness and rage blending within his mind.**

**"Sometimes it's easy to forget that there are monsters among us," a voice said from behind. Desmond spun to see Shephard whose serious face did nothing to brighten the man's mood, "As happy as I am to see you up and about I warned you that you shouldn't come out in public."**

**"Come," Desmond said pulling a hood over his head to obscure his identity, "let's go inside the restaurant and sit."**

**The two stepped into the restaurant and found their way to a table. The place was falling apart, like most other buildings in City 12 it was getting old. Gray dusty curtains were hanged over the front of the store because the front wall, once made of plate glass, was entirely missing. The infrastructure of the old world was collapsing now, the peak of civilization and technological process being reduced to broken walls and ruins. Desmond breathed a frustrated sigh as the waitress, a sickly old woman in her sixties, left to fetch their order. She returned a moment later with drinks.**

**"You feeling alright?" Shephard asked taking a sip of his drink.**

**"Nothing physical I assure you," Desmond replied, "I'm as healthy as a horse physically."**

**"Never quite understood that figure of speech," Shephard admitted, "I still say being out in public is a bad idea."**

**"I told you to relax Shephard," Desmond reminded, "Hassan checked out that Emil Nemico character you were so sure was nefarious."**

**"And?" Shephard asked as if expecting to hear a recount of a fight.**

**"The kid is clean," Desmond responded sipping his own drink through a straw and, finding it too thick, grabbing a straw.**

**"He has business with the Templars," Shephard said, "And with thugs. He was meeting with Vera."**

**"Hassan tailed them to the meeting," Desmond whispered leaning in toward Shephard, "You want to know what they were up to?"**

**Shephard nodded. Desmond took something out of his pocket and tossed it onto the table. The grizzled general picked it up and looked it over. It was a decorative piece of paper detailing the whereabouts and details of a coming celebration - a party in Desmond's honor to celebrate his sudden recovery.**

**"I should miraculous recoveries more often," Desmond joked, "The Templars may still have shady things up their sleeves Shephard but this Nemico character checks out, he's been a member of Baron Brown's personal body guard force and is a Resistance soldier with several medals for bravery."**

**"He mentioned that the Templars were none too pleased about your recovery," Shephard said continuing on despite Desmond's denials, "I would watch your back or the assassin order might just go extinct and don't trust Nemico even if he checks out."**

**"Not too worry," Desmond said licking his lips as their food finally arrived, "Hassan has been on that problem for some time now. He and Leo have been doing plenty of recruiting. I won't make any mistakes."**

**"Just be careful Desmond," Shephard said taking a bite of his food, "The last thing we need is the Templars to gain control of this Resistance. Humanity needs better than them."**

**"Relax," Desmond said with a jovial smile, "They wouldn't try anything until after the party... unless of course the party is a trap!"**

**"My thought's exactly," Shephard said.**

**Allison walked into the medical room. Her pale but pretty face lit up when she saw Julian and her blue eyes beamed as she walked toward him. He'd been in surgery getting actual work done on his wound. Even Alyx's attempt had only made the infection worse but now, taking full rounds of antibiotics, Julian was poised to make a full recovery. He was shirtless and Allison could see the wound on his side wondering if it would scar his impeccable lean-muscled physique. She leaned down to him and he sat up to give her a kiss drowning in her eyes. He felt a bit embarrassed as the nurse, accompanied by Theta Prime, entered the room.**

**"Here he is," the nurse said, "He'll make a full recovery and be ready to leave Hunters Fall in a few days."**

**"How do you like your stay in Hunters Fall thus far?" Theta asked studying the young assassin from head to toe.**

**"Most interesting," Julian replied staring intently into her eyes.**

**"Surprising since you've spent most of it here," Theta countered, "You look at me as if you know me."**

**"I thought I did," Julian said, "Perhaps I'm confusing you for another Theta."**

**Allison felt a sudden wave of recognition of her own. Her own contact with Theta Dark had been short-lived but the name was known to her as was what the woman had looked like. Theta Prime certainly wasn't an identical twin but the resemblance was an uncanny one. She put her hand over her mouth but bit her tongue.**

**"How long have you been here at Hunters Fall Theta?" Julian asked getting on a shirt.**

**"Two years," she replied dismissing the nurse and turning her back on the assassin as if haunted by something, "before that I can only remember bits and pieces of my life. Flashes of memory."**

**"It can't be," Julian said approaching her and looking closely for a certain scar on her neck but it wasn't there.**

**"What can't be?" she asked spinning around and startling the assassin who had moved in far too close.**

**"Nothing," Julian admitted, "Turns out I don't know who you are after all. You have no memory at all of who you were before two years ago?" **

**"Well," she began, "I have some. I know that the Combine killed my parents... and I know that at some point they had me captured... I got away somehow... I'm not sure when or how but I escaped, I turned against them, I-" **

**Julian caught her as she nearly collapsed to the floor. The woman recovered quickly feeling quite embarrassed - even more so when Jara and Alyx entered the room once again escorted by the same nurse. The two of them could sense the tension in the room, especially Jara who had been trained to read both posture and facial expression. The conversation that had just taken place had been an awkward one indeed. **

**"This place is great!" Jara said trying to lighten the mood, "You got to come check it out with us Julian!"**

**"Yeah," Allison said.**

**"No, no," Jara disagreed, "We make it a girls night out, you in Theta? We can hit the town maybe find some man-action."**

**"Sounds fun," Theta admitted quietly, "But I've got a great deal of work to do. Besides, if there's one part of my identity I do remember, it's that I was never into guys.**

**"That's fine with us," Alyx started but Theta's expression betrayed that she had her mind made up to stay behind.**

**"You'll come won't you Julian?" Allison asked heading for the door with the others.**

**"Yeah, sure, you go ahead, I'll catch up" Julian said watching as they walked out the door. He turned to Theta who sat quietly with a distant expression, "I may not know you are but I promise I will help you find out."**

**Desmond sat atop the highest ledge in City 12. The city was alive with noise as the mid-afternoon sun beat down upon it. The assassin listened to that tumult of sound soaking it in like a melody that brought somber thoughts blended with undying hope. Hope was like a vampire - no matter how many times reality tried to crush it hope would never truly die at least not for the weathered elder assassin. The human race had survived against all odds and here they were building a future.**

**Desmond knew that elsewhere many others could not build that future. Despite their victory at Golgotha the vast majority of people could not reproduce. Nearly every Combine Citadel had a suppression field that covered the surrounding area halting sexual reproduction. Desmond knew that until every field was down humanity was still a dying breed. He also knew that the Combine would try to patch this problem before long though he knew not when they would attempt to build a knew Citadel.**

**That was the thing that the Combine had in common with the Templars, both were capable of playing a very patient game with unnerving pauses into between moves. More than two years had passed since Golgotha yet, aside from the influx of children, not all that much had changed. The Templars apparently hadn't changed at all either, they were still plotting and scheming and now, as usual, Desmond and the Assassin Order were the main obstacle in their path to dominance. Dominance of what? - Desmond wondered. He looked down at the city from his perch and wondered what to do. There were a dizzying amount of choices, an incredible array of possibilities and Desmond wasn't the wisest of men. He closed his eyes and cut himself off from the world feeling the beating of his heart as he sunk into himself - right into his DNA. As he opened his eyes he saw the body of Ezio Auditore form right before his eyes crouched on the ledge beside him.**

**"You are in need of my advice amici?" Ezio asked with a smile.**

**"The Templars are planning something," Desmond replied, "But I need to know what. Should they really be attempting something at this party? I mean I have the Pieces of Eden, I'm invincible."**

**"No man is invincible," Ezio disagreed, "They would prey upon overconfidence of that kind."**

**"Invincible may have been the wrong word," Desmond admitted.**

**"All men have weaknesses, temptation, fears, habits," Ezio said, "And needs. Parasites, priests and politicians prey on these. The Templars are no different. If you want to find the truth you must seek it."**

**"That's right," Desmond said looking down at his ring finger with a grin, "I am an Assassin, if I want to know if the Templars are planning to assassinate me I can find out the old fashioned way."**

**"Lavoriamo al buio per servire la luce."**

**"Nothing is true," Desmond said watching Ezio take a leap of faith from the ledge and slowly dissipate from existence, "Everything is permitted."**

**Theron landed with a thud flying out of the treetops and firing off several sonic-burst rounds. He'd managed to procure an experimental weapon from his Combine overlords that used sonic vibration to essentially liquefy human organs the upside of which was instant death and the downside of which was short battery life. Within moments a dozen Resistance soldiers lie dead and Theron took back to the sky in his own personal Hunter-Killer seeking out more unsuspecting Resistance soldiers and recharging his new toy.**

**The Bounty Hunter landed a few miles away when an angry group of soldiers attempted to shoot down his helicopter. Theron landed the craft and emerged as bullets bounded through the air toward him preparing to tear him limb from limb. The agile creature slipped away from the enemy fire this time taking aim with a rotating pulse-minigun, another weapon on loan from the Combine. The Resistance soldiers that could take cover did but those left standing were torn into. Pulse rounds burrowed into faces, decimated chest cavities and sent crimson mists spraying as dozens of soldiers were gunned down.**

**Theron watched as more soldiers came toward him as if wishing to die. He laughed, a sickly and almost unnatural sound coming from his alien lungs, as they too fell one by one. More came and this time Theron called out yet another new gadget, three of them in fact - drones. The Combine had been working on them for sometime using the designs of flying bots they had built to drop Hopper Mines and photograph citizens to create a drone that could fire pulse rounds and, if a target was close enough, bolts of lightning. The bounty hunter cackled as more soldiers died, their bullets bouncing uselessly off of the drones.**

**By now, he knew, they were alerted to his proximity to Hunters Fall. Soon enough, like all could would-be heroes, his targets would be drawn out to meet him. He felt smug satisfaction as he took to the skies once more to seek out more hapless victims. Humans were no better than bacteria to him, a plague upon the Universe, the more blood he got to spill while on this mission the better he would sleep when night came to this desolate pale blue dot.**

**Theta readied her gear and gathered her troops. In her two years at Hunters Fall she'd turned the Resistance soldiers there around. Where once there had been three thousand rag-tag bumblers now there were three thousand skilled soldiers. Her leadership skills had been recognized early and already she was the second highest officer stationed at Hunters Falls outranked only by a General who showed his face very little and was clearly a man of strategy rather than action. Theta had rejected the title of Major thinking military titles too formal. She had trained alongside her men and women and fought beside them in several battles. For the past nine months however there fights had been limited to raids on Combine supply depots and train stations, something that had garnered little response. Now, with attack sensors tripped all along the Western border of Hunters Fall and reports coming in of horrible bloodshed she suspected their actions had finally caused retaliation. She had new thoughts as Alyx and the others they'd taken in entered the room.**

"**This one's ours Theta," Alyx said, "Well mine more specifically."**

"**We're under attack," Theta replied with a confused expression, "If you want to fight alongside us that's your business but we are going to defend this base."**

"**I know who is attacking you," Alyx growled, "He's a bounty hunter. He captured me some time ago. I was being transferred to a prison facility here in America and when I escaped with Julian's help he was sent after me again. I brought this on you, at least let me help."**

"**Fair enough," Theta replied admiring the girl's grit and the determination broiling in her olive eyes, "But the others stay."**

"**Alyx," Julian scolded, "It's a trap!"**

"**You don't think I know that?" Alyx asked grabbing a Spas-12 and pumping it, "I aim to end this hunt as the hunter, not the prey."**

**Theta led her squad out on several custom made vehicles that resembled snow-mobiles with tank treads each with a small mini-gun mounted in the front. Alyx rode with her holding tight to the woman's waist as they rode out of Hunters Fall toward the source of the disturbance. The area outside the gates was a broken down old suburb that had been the site of a holdout against the Combine led by the citizens of Hunter. Hunters Fall, the eventual defeat of the town, had become legendary as a triumphant but tragic last stand before the true war against the Combine had officially begun. Alyx watched the bombed out broken buildings pass by her and truly wondered what the world was like before the Combine had arrived. She herself had been a toddler when the Combine had come and had no memory of the world than mankind had created. That fact didn't stop her from wanting to end the Combine.**

**Smoke rose in the distance marking the area where Theron was last seen. Corpses were scattered to and fro with a combination of pulse wounds and burns that showed a fractal almost electrical pattern. Theta glared through the scope of her M40 sniper rifle with her pale gray eyes scanning the area. She saw something slipping amidst the trees just ahead, it was quick but the metallic glint gave it away. It was growing closer now though it stayed moving so quickly she could barely get a bead on it with her rifle. She fired a shot, the birds took off from every tree for a quarter mile and the bullet hit its mark. Theta turned to Alyx to offer her a smile but Alyx's expression told her she shouldn't have been celebrating.**

**Theta could see the drone and despite putting a bullet to it the damned thing was still coming. She lifted her rifle but ended up diving out of the way as the drone, firing and missing with an arc of electricity in her direction, passed by. Alyx was on her feet she rushed to a soldier beside her borrowing an AT-4 and firing off the rocket as the drone turned to come towards them again. The spry droid dodged the rocket but didn't escape the blast radius when the rocket hit a tree just behind the drone. The drone tumbled to the ground scraping off parts and digging up soil as it fell.**

**Alyx panicked when she saw a second drone, this one opened fire forcing her and Theta to scramble for cover. The other soldiers fired back each finding cover and taking turns offering suppressive fire while trying to hit the drone with rockets of their own. A third drone swooped in. Now fighting off both of them the soldiers were oblivious to the towering alien now moving in toward them. By the time they realized he was there two of them were dead. Alyx had seen him though and so had Theta. An M40 bullet crashed through the air and struck the bounty hunter in the right shoulder. The alien seemed to shrug off the blow but his armor hadn't protected him fully from it although what little of the bullet made it through only left a deep scratch in his flesh.**

"**My turn!" the alien howled opening fire with the Pulse-minigun sending the troops scattering. Theta tried to rally them but it was too late. They had never fought an enemy like this. The typical Combine soldier was a dumb brute who only followed orders, a mindless storm trooper, a mere cog in the Empires plan but Theron was much more than that. Alyx moved from cover stepping out into the open knowing that the bounty hunter wanted her alive. Theron eyed her putting the minigun down and waving Alyx on as if challenging her, "Well now, Alyx Vance prepared to surrender only after you've gotten most of these soldiers killed. You human scum."**

"**Who said anything about surrender?" Theta shouted firing off another sniper round. Theron had suspected the trap however and was already moving out of the way before the shot was ever fired, still it managed to graze his head cutting his skin, his strange blood, a mix of red and blues, oozed down his head as he reached out to punch Alyx aside.**

"**The Combine have brought utopia to mankind and you reject it!" Theron growled picking up the minigun and rushing toward Theta. She knew the vehicle she was using as cover was designed to be bullet proof but the pulse rounds from the minigun began to penetrate the armor plating forcing her to move but not before one lone round broke through penetrating into her left leg and causing her to fall. She stayed low as the rest of the rounds passed over her listening to Theron's footsteps thud along as he neared her. She tried to crawl away and managed to find a nearby weapon but Theron was already on her. This was it, she decided, she would die an honorable death beside her fellow soldiers.**

"**Not dead eh?" Theron asked surprised she had survived the horrors, "I wonder if leaving you wounded will draw out my prey or if I should simply end it now."**

"**Fuck you!" Theta screamed in defiance spitting toward the assassin.**

"**Some fight left in you," Theron remarked, "You humans are a persistent germ. Time to die!"**

**Theta swallowed hard as the minigun spun up, she glanced back at the alien for only a moment to see a blade of some sort sticking from his chest. The bounty hunter screamed and collapsed to the ground firing off erratic shots with the minigun. Alyx grabbed Theta dodging the rounds and trying to stay ahead of the wounded alien's line of fire as it howled in agony. They managed to reach a still functioning vehicle driving off as quickly as they could towards the gates of Hunters Fall.**

"**That was magnificent," Theta remarked. This time she was the one holding tight to Alyx, "Thank you for saving me."**

"**Remind me to thank Jara for letting me borrow the blade," Alyx said as the gates opened for them, "I'm sorry about this, I'm sorry I brought this upon you."**

"**Do not blame yourself," Theta said as they got off the vehicles, "You did nothing wrong, you are being chased because of what you're doing right. If the Combine were not trying to kill you then I would be concerned. Still, I lost a lot of good soldiers out there today thanks to that bastard. Do you think he's still alive?" **

"**I wouldn't doubt it," Alyx answered, "But he won't bother us again for a little while, in fact after this failure the Combine might take him off the trail entirely."**

**Desmond watched the crowd watching him as the sun descended over City 12. He'd spent the late afternoon following a trail of proverbial breadcrumbs. It hadn't been easy as most of the citizens knew who he was but with the help of a hood and the deepening shadows of dusk he was beginning to have much better luck. He'd just overheard several known Templars talking about the party and his interrogation of one of them had born fruit of a curious kind. Apparently the party wasn't the only attempt on his life that was to be made. The Templars were more brazen and obvious than he'd ever seen them, openly recruiting in the streets and with a great many heralds and street preachers singing their praises. Many voices cried out that Desmond was a fraud and dictator and perhaps even in league with the Combine.**

"**He is a wolf in sheep's clothing," one herald shouted, "Keeping the people docile and happy while the Combine continue their control of the world and Desmond continues to gain power. He will be our undoing. Many say he is secretly one of them, worshipping Combine gods instead of our own!"**

**Most were more subtle however, claiming that Desmond was merely too docile and that the Resistance was left stagnant and defenseless under his command. It was those heralds who had drawn the biggest crowds including one herald who had been singing the praises of Emil Nemico. Desmond could respect that the people were frustrated and wanted action against the Combine but he also understood that the Combine could not be defeated over night or likely even in a decade. Desmond was in it for the long haul. He smiled when he heard the footsteps behind him and turned to see the would-be assassin. With a knowing grin on his face the elder assassin side-stepped the first swipe of the Templar's blade grabbed the woman's wrist and caused her to drop the blade. He kneed her in the stomach punched her in the face and kicked her aside all as one unending fluid motion. The crowd was watching now as the woman struggled to get to her feet only to get on her knees and beg forgiveness.**

"**Please," she pleaded, "The Templars want you dead. I am behind on my payments to them! They said if I killed you I could be free of my debts! I am not an assassin or a Templar!"**

"**You definitely aren't an assassin," Desmond said with a bow, "Tell me where they are so that I may free of your debts in my own way."**

**Alyx felt a bit awkward when she stepped into the room. She had been treated as a hero for the last few hours and taken out to a night on the town by Theta's closest friends. Those soldiers who had returned from the debacle outside of the base were all glad that she had been there to stab Theron in the back. So it seemed she was in for more praise - Theta had called for her. Alyx found the woman dressed in plain clothes, the first time she'd ever seen her outside of her uniform. The woman's strange white hair danced about her shoulders as she turned to face Alyx with her equally odd pale eyes gleaming in the dim light that the room was illuminated by. Theta handed Alyx a drink in a glass bottle and took a seat to rest her wounded leg.**

"**A toast," Theta proposed, "To my hero."**

"**To all those brave soldiers who fell," Alyx countered lifting the glass for the toast and then sipping it.**

"**Good isn't it?" Theta asked.**

"**Why did you want to see me?"**

"**Because you saved me Alyx," Theta said staring into Alyx's eyes intently, "You're brave, you're fearless and you're sexy as hell."**

"**Sexy as hell?" Alyx echoed blushing from embarrassment.**

"**I'd be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to you," Theta explained, "I'm not sure if you and Gordon were together, there are plenty of rumors, legends about you two... I guess I just-"**

"**Gordon and I weren't together," Alyx explained nervously fidgeting, "Not officially or anything though I do think about him an awful lot. He's just so damned quiet, he's a scientist not a soldier - you know -shy, afraid to open-up. I see the way he looks at me though... the same way you're looking at me."**

"**I'm sorry," Theta apologized, "This is making you feel weird. I shouldn't have done this-"**

**Theta felt Alyx's soft lips interrupt her. She didn't know how to react but soon melted into an ocean of bliss and kissed the woman right back. Alyx recoiled now blushing bright red and offering an innocent nervous smile. Theta kissed her again this time the kiss became far more passionate. Alyx sat back in her chair as it ended and stared into Theta's pale gray eyes with a mix of intrigue and arousal.**

"**That's for saving me," Theta said with a smile.**

"**I, I should be going," Alyx said nervously, "The others will be worried that I was gone."**

**Theta sat in the darkness alone with her thoughts. She'd only come back to reality a little over two years ago. Her identity had flooded back to her in pieces. She knew that she had been part of the Combine Empire or at the very least an experimental guinea pig at their disposal. She'd always focused on fighting, on training, on defeating the Combine and ensuring the human race survived and would one day be victorious. Alyx had set something dormant off inside her. Seeing such feats of bravery on the battlefield from such a beautiful woman had broken down a wall between Theta and her own passion, her own desire. She retired to her room half of her hoping that her dreams would be of her forgotten past and the other half hoping to dream of two olive eyes and a pretty face.**


	5. Chapter 5: Splinters

Chapter Five: Splinters

Allison Rogue felt trouble brewing beneath her fragile mind. She had been carried into the realm of sleep on wings of peace only to be enveloped by a nightmare. In these dreams she was no longer who she thought she was. Here in the land of illusion she was Subject 27. Faces that were not faces surrounded her, the masks warn by Combine soldiers and scientists as they put her through her paces. Always there was pain. She couldn't speak, for the Combine had not seen fit to teach her language. She could only cry out for mercy as they strapped into the machine that would take her back.

Back - back to the jungles of Vietnam. She'd been there before and, in fact, she knew the reason the United States had such a well-defined interest in Vietnam for she was there when they discussed it.

"We need something from you Lieutenant," a man in a dark suit said blowing smoke, "A specific item of archeological interest that may just end the energy crisis, not to mention what it could do for weapons technology."

"What am I looking at?" Allison heard her past self ask while looking down at an aerial photo of a temple and a rough sketch of a spherical object emitting beams of light.

"The VC know damn well what they have there, our sources suggest they have an in with a very powerful Order and the area around the Temple is well guarded," the government man said taking another puff of his cigarette, "We need you and your men to get in, get the sphere and get the hell out. You will, of course, be handsomely rewarded if you succeed."

"And if I fail?"

"I wouldn't recommend that," the g-man replied coldly.

Allison felt herself catapulted across the chronological chasm. Splintered memories seemed to weave themselves together forming a chain of pain, angst, and heartache spanning thousands of years. Yes thousands. Dozens of individuals DNA had gone to create her and she had been forced to explore their memories going as deep as several millennia. She remembered the Animus they had her in, designed to speed read through genetic memory that tore her already abused mind to bits. She had done much to piece some semblance of a life together out of the fragments the Combine had left. Now this dream threatened to tear them apart.

"Rise and shine Subject 27," she heard the voice as clear as day but when she opened her eyes she found the room dark and peaceful. She turned to Julian who lay beside her noting that he was waking up and couldn't have been the source of the voice. Images still raced across her nuerons. Memories lashed out from the distant past.

"Are you alright?" she heard Julian ask but the man sounded a thousand miles away. He reached for her to comfort her but in her panicked state she reacted with violence hitting and punching. She couldn't believe the force with which she was hitting him, she stopped herself using every bit of will power to run. She left the building and shot out into the night with legs pumping praying Julian wasn't behind her. Shame cascaded through her mind flooding it with guilt. She was losing control again, the memories were taking over. Despite her mind now being awake the phantoms that had haunted her dreams return. One of them a glowing female figure standing tall and firm with authority in her voice speaking to her as if she were a child to be chastised.

"You're kind were always so selfish," the woman's voice boomed, "We tried to help you, tried to undo the chains of bondage the others would have put you in. In turn you betrayed us too."

The darkness of the night enveloped her as she ran on with no thought of where she was going or why. Rain was beginning to fall and her feet had left the solid ground of Hunter's Fall and now splashed along on grass and leaves in the underbrush of the mountains. She was climbing, her mind a tangled mess, her hands covered in splinters and blisters as the hours lagged on. The thunder clapped and the rain fell to cleanse her soul. She stood in the forest with her arms outstretched to the sky begging for her madness to end whether my death or miracle. When neither came she collapsed to the forest floor and fell from consciousness as the shadows of the past devoured her present self.

Shephard desperately tried to catch up to the quick-footed assassin but although his free running skills had improved he was still a far cry from Desmond's level. The expert assassin breezed from rooftop to rooftop despite being considerably older than Shephard. The General was hardly surprised that the Old Man had it in him. Desmond seemed on the verge of a comeback although Shephard now understood this little miracle was mostly staged. Desmond had played the sick old man role to perfection and, although actually being sick for a time, had been getting progressively better from day one. Now Shephard was sure that if Desmond were side by side with his son in their assassin's robes he would be unable to tell the two apart.

Desmond turned to look over his shoulder at the slowpoke he'd left in the dust. He stopped atop a balcony ledge of an old apartment building and waited for the tired old General to find his way up. Desmond laughed and guffawed as Shephard slowly found his way up to him using a very slow hand-hand foot-foot climbing technique. When at last Shephard was sitting beside him Desmond let the man catch his breath for a moment before saying anything.

"Faster than I'd thought you'd be," Desmond said taking a swig from a canteen of water he had hanging from his belt, "But still too damn slow to call yourself an assassin."

"I don't see why the Order needs me with you around," Shephard said taking a drink from the canteen and passing it back, "I'm not even of an assassin bloodline."

"Bloodlines," Desmond said with a dismissive expression, "That sort of bullshit might have gone for protocol before the Combine but now we need every assassin we can get. Even slow old pudgy badly dressed bastards such as yourself. Speaking of which what are you wearing to the party? It's a costume party you know."

"Nothing," Shephard said, "I thought we discussed this, the party is a Templar trap!"

"Nothing eh?" Desmond joked, "Brave man."

"You're not seriously thinking about going to this party are you?" Shephard asked, "They're planning to kill you!"

"Race you down," Desmond offered before immediately getting himself a head start.

Shephard shook is head in disbelief and started down after him.

Julian took several calming breaths to center himself. His feet moved over the mountainous terrain with graceful ease. His breath escaped catching light in the chilly but humid morning air as dawn arrived. He'd been on Allison's trail for hours but her path had been a difficult one to follow. The storm had been heavy washing away most of the clues that the assassin could have followed. He had struggled with worry in those early hours trying to keep his mind focused on finding her instead of wrapped in a thousand worthless splinters of worry. Now he was entirely of one mind.

The young assassin saw something in a clearing ahead. Someone was huddled on the ground, he recognized the clothing as Allison's. Someone stood above her. Julian couldn't see who it was but he appeared to be holding a brief case. A flash of recognition entered his mind but just as he reached the clearing the figure passed behind a tree. The assassin arrived, his sharp eyes darted to and fro but the mysterious man in the blue suit was nowhere to be found. He had more important things to worry about anyway.

Julian knelt down beside her and checked her pulse. She was alive but her flesh felt so cold. He tried to rouse her but she didn't respond. He rolled her onto her back and whispered into her ear hoping that she wouldn't respond violently as she had before. She didn't attack. She didn't respond at all. The assassin shook her a bit more insistently. Her lips began moving and Julian thought for a moment that she was stirring but he soon realized this action wasn't a conscious one. He tried to pry up her eyelids but they were shut tight and her eyes beneath them danced frantically as if she was caught in a dream.

"Don't worry," Julian said as much to himself as to Allison, "Everything will be alright."

The fetid Vietnamese jungle seemed to envelop the twelve man squad and their leader as they trudged through the muck on the way to their target. Lieutenant Morgan Eisley knew what they were getting themselves into, in the back of his mind he had a feeling they were being heavily fucked over by the military brass who set this mission up. The war was dreadfully unpopular and according to the men in black it was coming to an end mighty soon. The sooner the better as far as the Lieutenant was concerned.

"Hey Lieutenant," one of the fire-team leaders called, "Why in the hell are we here?"

"You ain't never been to Sunday school corporal?" one of the grunts joked, "We're here to be God's playthings. God spit in some dirt and that's how we got here."

"No," the corporal complained, "I mean why the hell are we in this goddamn jungle?"

"We're looking for something," the Lieutenant replied.

"What?"

"A Piece of Eden."

Julian sat at Allison's bedside watching the nurses work on her. Out in the field he had something to strive for, something to keep his mind from the all encompassing worry that came with caring this deeply about someone. Now there was nothing standing as a barrier to his paranoia. To make matters worse each test performed seemed only to confirm that something was wrong with Allison Rogue. Eventually his pacing and panic got him banned from the medical room and he was left waiting outside where he had all the room to pace. He felt so empty inside. He had been trained to kill, trained to take life, but when a life counted on his intervention to be saved he had little ability to do anything. For all his talents he had no way to help Allison now.

Finally Theta came out of the medical room. Julian, being an assassin, could read nearly anyone's body language and expression but Theta was giving off mixed signals as she walked into the room. He sat down in order to fully brace himself for any good or bad news that might be given and he tried his best to look relaxed.

"You're a wreck," Theta remarked.

"How is she?"

"Stable," Theta replied vaguely, "I've seen the brainwave pattern before and if I didn't know any better I'd say that she's dreaming."

"Can you wake her up?" Julian asked with a hopeful expression.

"This is not an ordinary dream," Theta said, "The only place I've seen this brainwave pattern is in test subjects recovered from the Combine. When I was found I was in a dream-state similar to this. I think its best to let it run its course... there's something else."

"What?"

"Well we did some tests to see if there was any internal or organ damage and found something weird... we ran some more tests... She appears to be, pregnant."

Julian was unable to react. Emotions of every kind crashed against each other like waves. On the one hand he was happy that she was pregnant but on the other he was worried for her even more now. Could her pregnancy have brought this all on her? The assassin retired to his room and lay on the bed. He'd been searching all night for her with at least half of that in pouring rain. He hoped that a few hours sleep would calm the swelling sea of thoughts within his head.

Desmond walked amongst the crowd dressed in full assassin armor of the sort that would have been worn by his assassin ancestors. He further concealed his identity by remaining hooded and wearing a cloth over his mouth. Few if any turned to look as he slipped amongst the party-goers who danced and sang in the streets. The City was truly thankful to have a true holiday and even those who were not happy with how Desmond was running things were glad to celebrate regardless. Many others he saw had dressed up in assassin robes, some to show their loyalty to the Order but most merely to mock what they saw as an old tired worn out power structure. Desmond "Moses" Miles had been part of the Resistance for decades yet many believed they stood no closer to defeating the Combine today, more than twenty years later.

The Elder Assassin turned to see Shephard close behind him. The man was wearing his own assassin robes which Desmond had hoped the man would wear to be initiated into the Assassin Order in a few weeks time. Shephard had complained about the gift and Desmond had to agree that the man had a hard time pulling the traditional robes off. The two of them moved along the streets stopping at venues and stands. Everyone who could conjure up a few trinkets or throw together something semi-edible was out selling their wares and Shephard had joked that the number of people selling was likely higher than the number of potential customers.

The two of them approached the main stage of the evening's festivities. The area was once a football stadium where some college or school held their sporting events but now it was a coliseum of a different kind. The stage was decked out with lights and the entire stadium was filled with the finest food imaginable being offered by Baron Brown and his associates for free. Desmond grabbed a fresh apple and took a bite. Perhaps there were some perks to a post industrial world, everything was natural and wholesome again. A second look at the apples shook him to his senses when he saw that a good percentage of them were rotten. Without modern pesticides and irrigation good crops were hard to come by.

"About time you get here," Hassan remarked meeting the two of them beside the stage, "The Templars have been delivering the speeches. It's as if they don't expect you to attend."

"Have any of them said they want to kill me?" Desmond joked.

"Not yet but you're just in time for a speech from Emil Nemico himself."

"Friends, fellow citizens of City 12, let us reason together on this night of celebration," Emil Nemico started with a shimmer in his brown eyes, "Let us make this a time of collaboration. We can no longer trust the assassins to guide us. Tonight we celebrate Desmond Miles who, although he has helped us in bad times, is unreliable. Not to mention his son! Oh his son! The boy who would be king. Instead of stepping in for his Father Julian Miles spent his days in the bed of his woman cowering behind his love for her. When he should have been leading a charge against the Combine he was out fighting on his own, risking his life for his own selfish reasons not on our behalf. He was not fighting beside us, he was fighting against us and for himself and the Assassin Order. We cannot accept the rule of the Assassins anymore-"

"Excuse me young man," Desmond shouted, though his face was cloaked enough to disguise his identity, "But I am one of the assassins you are speaking of."

"Look ladies and gentlemen," Emil prodded the crowd, "A real assassin has something to say. Shall we let him speak?"

The crowd lit up with boos and jeers that sent a shiver down Desmond's spine but the wily old man had not yet had his fun.

"Fair enough," Desmond announced turning to the crowd, "They do not want my words. Let our fists do the talking then. Let us decide this in a fight!"

The crowd erupted in support and Emil Nemico, fully invested in the crowd, grew a grin as wide as could be.

"Very well assassin," the Templar chided, "Let us see what your Order has to offer."

Desmond stepped out onto the stage further watching as the young strong Templar got himself into a fighting stance. Desmond had been in a great many fights in his time as an assassin, he'd put down many a Combine soldier and plenty of Templars in his time. He sensed there was something different about this one. He realized how right he was when the first few punches the boy tried to deliver turned into an attempted foot sweep. Desmond was ready for it, of course, but seeking drama the assassin pretended to fall for it and crashed to the planks of the wooden stage below. The crowd erupted into a mix of sound, mostly cheers for the Templar champion. Desmond began to fight the man from the ground keeping him at bay with a series of kicks.

The elder assassin sprung up now and dashed in with several harmless quick jabs designed to taunt the Templar more than anything. It worked as the Templar moved in and began to throw heavier slower punches. Desmond avoided them moving with the flow of his enemy to get out of the way of each attack with ease. His quickness of evasion was winning the crowd, they began to laugh as Emil, in frustration, began overexerting his punches and kicks. Desmond felt a sudden burst of pain as one of the kicks landed in the chest reminding him that this wasn't all just a game. He barely lost his balance as several more kicks and punches came at him.

Desmond struck back now waiting for his moment and grabbing the Templar's arm twisting it until he had the man. He knocked the Templar to the ground and put his knee on his enemy's throat and lifted his arms to the sky. The crowd roared and this time many of them were applauding him instead of Nemico. He let the man up who, despite casting him an angry glare, didn't seem as if he was about to try anything serious with everyone watching.

"I suppose the assassins still have some useful tricks," he admitted to the quieting crowd, "Tell me assassin, what is your name?"

"Desmond Miles."

Julian's dreams were more disturbing than his reality. Visions passed through his mind of him bathing in the blood of a thousand Combine soldiers. He cut them to shreds, he bled them dry and he offered no mercy for anyone who pledged allegiance to the Empire that suffocated his world. It was this Empire that had created Allison, that had birthed a life merely to use it in their sickening experiments. They had created a human being and left her fractured and afraid. Michael Cameron had done all he could to help her and Julian had picked up where he had left off. Now it was all undone... and the Combine would pay.

Revenge coursed like adrenaline in his veins as he slit the throat of a Combine Elite and watched the crimson blood stain the soldier's white armor. More Combine came, this time showing their true faces. Tentacles came toward him trying with every bit of their will to utilize their strange powers, to hold him in their psychic grip. But within the dream he was a god, invincible when enveloped by dark vengeance that dwelled within him. To punish those who had taken Allison, who had taken Theta, who had taken his Mother - those who had destroyed the world.

Amidst all this bloodshed was a shining light. Amongst a battlefield covered in corpses and organs, of enemies laid to waist by the assassin's righteous blade, was a pulse. Beating effortlessly like a biological machine this heartbeat came to consume him. It was a bright light so beautiful that his first inclination was to flee, to escape, to shirk responsibility once more. The old Julian would have done that, the one that would have bathed in the blood of his enemies. But what did killing faceless Combine soldiers accomplish? Revenge would not make him invincible and would not set right the wrongs of the world. Revenge would not protect the innocent life now within Allison.

A shadow was over that life. Julian could feel it in his bones as he floated in the endless dreamscape that surrounded him. A shadow as ancient as time itself and as dark as the endless void of space that now swallowed him. He fell toward that light, that pulsating truth, that new life, and felt peace cover him.

Desmond stood amongst the crowd feeling for the first time as if he was truly well again. His theatrics on stage had earned him the support of many. Their doubts had not been as deep seated as Nemico and his Templar brethren had hoped. The elder assassin shook hands with his fellow citizens and tried to explain the them why the Resistance was making such slow progress. All the world was dying, he understood their impatience, but things could not get better all at once.

"Drink sir?" a young man asked and Desmond bought one from the lad who than asked for his autograph, "Its a real honor sir."

Soon enough it was time for the final words of the evening. All eyes turned to the stage as the eccentric Baron Brown entered surrounded by a parade of scantily clad women with outfits that were actually on fire. The Templars emerged too with Vidic leading them and Vera dressed all in black her beauty only overshadowed by her true nature.

"Be careful," Shephard warned as Desmond walked toward the stage, "Now would be the time they try something."

Desmond knew all too well the deceptive nature of the Templars, he kept his eyes and ears open as Vera offered an introduction to him and bid him to approach the microphone.

"Citizens of City 12," Desmond began, "I know that you are angry. I know that you are tired. I have listened to your cries for two decades and they do not fall on deaf ears. Let it be made clear that we are closer to victory than we ever have been. I don't care if the Assassin Order remains in power, I don't want to see us ripped apart by factions, whether they be religious or political or whatever. We only stand a chance against the Combine united. Many of you want action, want blood. We cannot win the war if we do not choose our battles wisely. Revenge is not the answer we are seeking. We must mature as a species if we are to take back our world. And we will take it back. TOGETHER! I propose a toast... to humanity, to the Resistance, to victory."

"To Desmond!" Vera shouted watching as he finished his drink.

Desmond walked along the streets with Shephard and felt truly satisfied with the way everything was going. His hope for humanity had once been reduced to smoldering ash but now burned with the intensity of the sun. He laughed aloud when he considered the glum attitude that everyone always seemed to have. At last he reached Baron Brown's apartment complex where his suite was located.

"I told you not to worry friend," Desmond said slapping Shephard on the back, "The Templars may want me gone but they are not brave enough to do anything about it... not yet at least. The people are still on our side."

"Perhaps you're right," Shephard admitted with a hopeful grin, "Now get some rest, you look exhausted."

"Drunk," Desmond corrected, "The term is drunk."

"How is she?" Alyx asked entering the room to see Theta still standing at Allison's bedside.

"Better," Theta said, "But still not out of it. Her brainwaves are slowing, her dreams are lessening but she's still all over the place."

"I can't imagine what it's like to be her," Alyx said, "Julian told me she's like a chimera, the Combine just tossed in all sorts of DNA."

"We're all sort of like that," Theta said, "Considering how long a string of ancestors we all have. I mean if you go back far enough you get into non-human entities, before we were humans."

"Science isn't my forte," Alyx admitted, "I'm more of a point and shoot kinda girl."

"Look Alyx, about last night-"

"It's okay," Alyx said biting her lip, "I kinda panicked unnecessarily. I didn't mean to just run out on you. Its just I've never really put much thought into being with a woman. Hell I've never put much thought into being with anyone, male or female. Sex just seems so selfish when the world is shit around you."

"I feel the same way," Theta agreed turning to look into her eyes, "But being selfless can get old too. I spend all my time here catering to others, helping others, doing my duty, I just thought that this once I could-"

Theta felt Alyx's lips against her own and felt herself melt into a puddle of the bliss. She pulled away though as alarm bells started singing and Allison began writhing. Theta set aside herself once more and rushed to the monitors to assess the situation. Everything calmed suddenly as Allison's eyes opened and she looked into Theta's pale gray orbs.

"I feel like shit," Allison remarked looking around at the room and trying to gain her bearings.

"Get Julian," Theta said, "Tell him she's awake."

Julian rushed into the room and kissed Allison. He sat beside her kissing her repeatedly on the forehead and fighting back tears as Theta explained that she had only now come out of her extended dream state.

"She's a bit disoriented," Theta explained, "But I don't think there's any permanent damage, we won't know for sure of course."

"And the baby?" Julian asked kissing Allison's hand.

"Baby?" Allison asked wide-eyed, "What baby?"

"Perfectly fine," Theta responded.

"Baby?" Allison echoed and Julian turned to her with a nod, "I'm not still dreaming am I?"

"Speaking of which, where did you go?"

"Not wear," Allison corrected, "When. It was so strange, it was like being in the Animus without needing the Animus."

"I'm just glad you're back," Julian said kissing her again, "Now get some rest."

"I just spent nearly twenty-four hours dreaming Julian," she replied getting out of bed, "I couldn't sleep if I wanted to."

Desmond lay down on his bed and put his hands behind his head. He felt light as a feather although he knew that by morning he would likely feel like a ton of bricks had hit his head. He felt as if the room was spinning as he tossed and turned chasing sleep with an overly excited mind. Something was wrong. Something was off.

He sat up and tried to shake off the weird feeling. He felt dizzy as he stood and he soon collapsed back onto the bed. Something was definitely wrong. He hadn't been that drunk. He sat up once more but soon enough his muscles went limp and down he fell to the bed. Numbness was invading his muscles, every nerve ending in his body seemed unresponsive. The elder assassin's mind was growing dark, he could feel the insidious poison take its toll but he could not scream for help. He felt entombed in his own body as he lay there helpless. NOT NOW! His mind screamed out. THIS ISN'T FAIR! His work was not yet complete, the human race was not yet free.

It was too late. Darkness descended bringing with it eternal sleep. Desmond Miles was dead.


	6. Chapter 6: The New World

Chapter Six: The New World

Allison's heart was pumping powerfully as she ran on the treadmill. She was hooked up to half a dozen different machines monitoring her vitals as the nurses put her through her paces to be sure that she was physically well. They'd already done extensive psychological tests and found her surprisingly sane for a woman of her unique background. Her background, as it turned out, wasn't entirely unique. Theta Prime had been through much of the same torturous treatment at the hands of the sinister Combine Empire. Allison wasn't sure what to think of the woman who so closely resembled one of Julian's enemies turned ally. Theta Dark was dead, Allison knew, buried in a cemetery outside of City 12 not far from where Michael was laid to rest.

Allison watched as Julian entered the room. She put her game face on running to accentuate her womanly features. She quickly realized that Julian's mood was off. His posture was slumped despite the fact he offered her a smile as he entered. She could feel that something was wrong, his almond eyes didn't have their usual youthful exuberance.

"Good morning," she started hoping that a conversation would give her answers, "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine," Julian answered rubbing at his eyes as if trying to wake up from a bad dream.

"You seem distant," Allison remarked hopping down from the treadmill to get a drink, "You want to talk about it?"

"I thought he was getting better," Julian responded putting his face in his palms, "I talked to him the day before we left. He said he was going to resume full duties."

"Your Father?" Allison asked, "What's happened?"

"He's dead," Julian replied blankly, "We received word this morning just before dawn. He was found dead in his bedroom right after a party in his honor celebrating his recovery."

"What did he die of?" Allison asked immediately suspecting foul play.

"Shephard didn't say," Julian replied, "But he was damn broken up about it."

Jara and Alyx entered then. They could tell by the feel of the air in the room that the bomb had been dropped and that Julian had told her. The look in the young man's eyes said it all. He wasn't sad but he wasn't angry either. There was simply a simmering nothingness, a cold distant expression of sub-zero shock. Theta, who'd been standing silent in the corner looking over Allison's charts, approached now and put her hand on the man's shoulder. Julian didn't acknowledge her. He didn't react at all.

"We should go," Allison announced suddenly shattering the silence, "We need to get to City 12."

"You need to rest still," Julian answered, "You went through a lot yesterday. Your body and mind need more time."

"We've done all the tests we need to," Theta tried to help, "She's perfectly healthy, as is the baby."

"Baby," Julian echoed in a hollow tone.

"Goddamn it Julian," Jara shouted suddenly, "City 12 needs you. The people of this entire planet need you to be at your best. Are you just going to sit there and sulk?"

"I know it hurts to lose a parent," Alyx said, "I lost my Mom when I was three. My Dad was hit hardest... I didn't quite understand it at first because I was so young. Eventually though it did hit and it hit hard. But you can't let tragedy destroy you or what your Father stood for. The world needs you Julian Miles."

"They're right," Allison said looking into his eyes with her bright blue beauties beaming, "Now is not the time to give up. Now is the time to fight harder."

"I can have a convoy arranged to escort you to City 12," Theta offered.

"Do it," Julian nodded, "The world won't lose us both... not yet."

Adrian Shephard felt as if his entire world had turned upside down and to make matters worse he was heavily hung over. The morning had brought with it a tragic fragment of news that had evolved into a vast web of intrigue by mid-afternoon. His headache had worn off but his heartache had only just begun and to make matters worse he was sure that Desmond's death had been a murder. The assassin had been assassinated. The irony would have seemed amusing to any emotionally removed from the situation but Shephard was far from emotionally removed.

The General paced to and fro in the streets waiting for the arrival of Hassan hoping his friend had answers or at least kind words. Shephard saw the assassin shifting through the crowd, a crowd that seemed not at all friendly to the robed figure. Hassan stood before him soon enough with a sullen expression and shifting nervous eyes that checked every corner and shadow around him. It was, however, high-noon, and there were no shadows to check.

"Please tell me you had nothing to do with this," Hassan started and Shephard offered and expression that said he was truly hurt, "You're eyes say it all."

"Where would you get such an idea?" Shephard asked, truly appalled at the accusation from a trusted friend such as this.

"Rumors circulate quickly," Hassan explained, "Especially when you have ears in so many places."

"They are saying that I did this?" Shephard asked spitting and shouting, "That I killed my best friend? Fucking Templar pigs!"

"Hush now Shephard," Hassan warned, "Such talk will get you a blade through the belly. It is only a rumor and nothing more. There is no evidence against you and there are just as many rumors claiming that the Templars or Baron Brown are behind it."

"I swear I'm going crazy," Shephard remarked sitting down to catch his breath as clouds gathered overhead, "This can't be real Hassan. He was well. He was healthy. This has to be a dream."

"It is not a dream," Hassan replied in a whisper, "And it was not a natural death. I suspect the Templars are somehow behind it as well. For now I suggest you lay low."

"Fucking Templars!" Shephard spat before bursting into tears, "Things couldn't be much worse."

"If you keep up those hysterics they will get worse. Emotion can turn self-destructive without reason to balance it," Hassan argued, "Do not lose heart my friend. You still have the Order. You will always have the allegiance of the Assassins. I will see you at the memorial tomorrow, until then my friend."

Shephard shook the man's hand before they went their separate ways. The General felt a bit better knowing that he still had friends and that his suspicions about Desmond's death were shared. Any comfort Hassan had imparted fled immediately when he came across a herald shouting in the streets that he was the murderer and that Desmond had died at his hands. Adrian Shephard fought the urge to throttle the herald knowing that such action would only make him look more guilty. For the first time in his life he truly worried about his reputation. If the entire City were turned against him it would be hard to clear his name even with the strongest evidence imaginable in his favor. The masses had no source of reason when they were all swayed together and if anyone was good at herding the masses it was the Templars.

Theta watched the group getting ready and felt the call of the road pulling at her own heart strings. She'd spent much of her time here in Hunters Fall out on patrol but it still felt like a prison at times. The call of duty was louder than the call for adventure. Now she had other excuses pulling her, one of them was wearing tight jeans and revving her own armored ATV. The way Alyx's eyes lit up when she revved the machine brought a smile to Theta's lips despite the heavy emotions on everyone's minds. For Theta there was also the temptation of her past. Julian had offered her a chance to unlock it.

"Are you sure you won't reconsider?" Julian asked her, "We could use you back in City 12 and we could help you find out who you really are."

"They could use me in City 12," Theta said offering Alyx a flirtatious smile before turning back to Julian, "But they need me here."

"Next time then," Julian offered shaking her hand.

"Don't forget me," Theta said to Alyx as they said their goodbyes, "I know I won't forget you."

"Maybe I'll come back sometime," Alyx offered, "And next time I'll bring Gordon."

"Who needs men?" Theta joked.

Along with the four companions Theta was sending six of her finest soldiers in an APC they'd built from various scraps on top of an actual Combine APC engine and frame. They departed early in the afternoon hoping to make it back to City 12 in a matter of days. It would be a long trek to make, at least nine hundred miles mostly across rugged terrain as the main roads were patrolled by the Combine.

Julian felt an empty pit in his stomach as they drove out into the open air. The scenery around them was absolutely stunning, the forest was alive with the song of spring time. Yet for Julian there was nothing serene or gentle about nature. The whole of the world had gone cold and sinister and to make matters worse he now he the weight of added responsibility. It would be his task to lead a major branch of the Resistance now, if he chose to accept the role that his Father had fulfilled for years. He had a legacy to live up to and he had the feeling that it was a legacy he scarcely understood. He'd often questioned the way Desmond had run things but now, likely to inherit a high level of power, he felt inadequate to fill the elder assassin's shoes.

Allison weighed on his thoughts heavily as well. It had only been a day since the bombshell about her pregnancy had dropped. New life begins. Old life ends. Julian laughed off the superstitious thought of synchronicity and focused on the road before him. It all became a blur as the hours drifted by until at last they made camp just after midnight. They'd been on the road for twelve hours and had made fantastic progress without running foul of any Combine. Everything was going well and the moon had lifted a bit as they sat around the fire and all had something to eat.

"To Desmond," Jara offered a toast with her canteen, "Best damned assassin ever."

"To a new legacy," Alyx said offering Julian a comforting glance.

"To a new assassin," Julian said toasting to the baby in Allison's belly, "The cycle begins again."

Julian expected to feel a swirl of emotions in his mind as he lay down and tried to sleep that night. Instead he felt numb. There was nothing there to be felt, he decided. Still somewhere inside he felt cold. Their lives were constantly disrupted by the Combine. The world was in ruins and shambles. Millions were slaves to the Combine and thousands of others fought and bled and died for the last two decades to free the Earth. Julian understood what his Father had been but the young assassin felt that he could never live up to the hope that Desmond had offered. He could never fix the world that had been broken, he didn't even know how it had been broken. Desmond had told him the story of course, the Resonance Cascade that had ended the world of men but his Father hadn't offered him as detailed a story as he needed. To piece the world back together Julian needed to know it had fallen apart.

Shephard stood in the pouring rain accepting the hollow comfort of kind words offered by the Templars. A crowd had gathered to pay their last respects to Desmond Moses Miles, the leader who had led the Resistance to the promised land - almost. The Templars all spoke kind words as the storm poured down and the thunder clapped. They gave speeches and praised the leader for his valiant efforts and at the same time won over more and more of the citizens to their own organization. Shephard listened as their deceptive tongues created a world in which the Templars had always been friends with Desmond even when the Assassin Order wasn't with them. The citizens didn't know any better as many of them had not even known of the existence of such organizations before the Combine invasion. Shephard felt sick to his stomach as Vidic, ancient enemy of Desmond, stepped to the mic. What he was about to hear only created more pain.

"On this day we mourn the loss of two of the greatest men who ever lived," Vidic began, "For just this morning we received word that Desmond's beloved son Julian has also passed. He was killed in a Combine attack outside of Hunters Fall."

Adrian Shephard was frozen in place unable to comprehend the words he was hearing. Every bit of his being felt numbed to the core and yet every cell in his body cried out in outrage at the words on this man's lips. Julian dead? How had he not heard? What madness was this? Shephard felt bile in his throat but he managed to quell it. He listened hard for Vidic's words though they now seemed muddled and distant to his bombarded senses.

"We mourn two great men who had set aside the honor of the Assassin Order to pursue nobler goals," Vidic continued, "In private these men were critical of the assassins and Desmond often remarked to me about his desire to one day dissolve the Order or to merge it with our own. We only wish he had lived to see such a united vision. We can only strive to make that united vision a reality."

"No!" A voice screamed, Shephard looked up to see that the voice had not been his own. Emil Nemico came running onto the stage. Several stage hands rushed out to restrain him but he broke free and reached the microphone, "The truth must be heard. The assassins killed Desmond because he threatened their order! I have their memos myself, secret documents that tell of a plot and its mastermind!"

"What are you going on about young man?" Vidic asked.

"I know who had them killed," Emil said, "Adrian Shephard. He sought the power for himself and when Desmond returned to health he realized he could not have it. So he sent Julian on a wild goose chase, a suicide mission that he knew would claim the young assassin's life because he had hired assassins to kill the boy! He then poisoned Desmond!"

"These are some hefty accusations," Vidic accused, "I would like to see some evidence!"

Shephard, now restrained by members of the crowd, watched in horror as Emil Nemico passed several sheets of paper to the aged hands of Warren Vidic. Vidic played the part so well pretending he had never seen the documents before, pretending they actually did prove Shephard's guilt. Vidic's gasp of horror made the ruse complete as he turned towards where Shephard stood with an accusatory glare of absolute conviction.

"General Adrian Shephard," Vidic boomed, "You will stand trial for the murder of Desmond Miles and his son!"

Shephard struggled to get free as the hands of the crowd clasped around him. He felt the world choking him. There was no escape for him now he knew. He would spend the rest of his life in a prison cell for a murder he did not commit and there was little that anyone could do about it. The Templars had been swaying the masses in their favor for months, years even and now, thanks in no small part to the party in Desmond's honor, they had convinced the citizens that they had always been Desmond's allies and that the assassins and Shephard were the enemy. All the world had gone mad.

The General managed to pull himself free thanks to the lubrication the rain was providing. He rushed through the crowd using every skill the assassins had taught him to navigate his way through the crowd and into the city. He scaled right up a concrete building in an instant drawing perplexed stares from those in crowd tasked with chasing him down. Soldiers were soon on his tail as well but his escape was already complete. He dashed across the city cutting through the deepening dusk desperate to make it to the Assassin's Guild where he hoped to find help. Part of him wondered if Hassan too would turn against him. Nothing in the world was sacred anymore.

Julian could feel the shadows moving around them as his eyes sprung open. His senses were sharper than any blade ever wielded by man and his ears picked out the distinct sound of footsteps. He scratched his head. These weren't the ordinary footfalls of Combine soldiers yet whomever they were they were most certainly wearing standard issue Combine boots. That mistake alone cost them the element of surprise as they crossed into the camp.

The assassin waited silently biding his time and observing their movement with his ears. They made another mistake as several of them strolled quietly passed the smoldering embers of the fire clearing heading in his direction. Keeping absolutely still the young assassin waited for the soldiers to be standing over top of him. He had a knife in each hand and soon enough each soldier had a knife in each leg. He sprung up to his feet as they fell from theirs.

The camp was alive with noise now as the Combine soldiers surrounded them. They didn't behave like Combine soldiers and Julian found himself perplexed with the speed at which they moved and the intelligence they displayed. Instead of moving in for the kill they remained mostly hidden in the trees firing off every so often and using the terrain. They moved swift and silent and only fired when they could afford to be seen via the muzzle flash.

By now the others were awake and Julian did his best to direct their movements in the darkness. The assassin was in hog heaven in such conditions but he knew the others, aside from Jara, would be at a great disadvantage. Pulse Rifle fire danced in from all sides and Julian used the moments of light to fake his targets out into the open. He would run at them as they fired and force them to lead their aim and follow after him yet the speedy assassin always stayed one step ahead. He led several soldiers out into the open hoping to get them to shoot each other by crossing lines of fire. They were smarter than that though and the assassin was forced to take them out the old fashioned way. He pulled out his hidden gauntlet blade and swept for the knees staying just beneath the line of fire and doing damage as he dashed from soldier to soldier.

Soon enough the camp was filled with injured Combine soldiers most of whom were holding their legs. That didn't stop them however as more soldiers moved in. Julian had Jara and the others keep an eye on the injured while he penetrated out into the forest around them looking for the rest. He found several Elites standing on a nearby hilltop. He allowed them to order their soldiers to surround him and once surrounded on all sides the assassin leapt into the trees. Darting from tree to tree he picked his targets well dropping down on them. He took one MP7 with a grenade launcher and used the grenade to knock out four soldiers in one swoop.

Finally the Elites stepped forward and to the assassin's ultimate surprise they unsheathed swords. Julian extended both his gauntlet blades now. He expected to take on all of them at once but the first soldier proved more than a match for the assassin forcing Julian to rethink his strategy. It wasn't often he met an excellent swordsman and even amongst assassins the ability to actually fight with a blade was a dying art. Julian wondered if this sort of training was something new the Combine was trying out. He danced along step for step with his first enemy but as the second Elite stepped in he wondered if he might call for help. Gunfire still sounded from the camp putting quite a damper on that idea.

The assassin instead opted for a bit of cheating. He grabbed a smoke grenade that was strapped to the Elite's uniform and pulled the pin causing a moment of panic followed by a loud pop and a bright flash. The deafening sound and blinding light failed to phase the Elites and Julian ended up at an even greater disadvantage. He fell on his back and pulled out his gun mowing down the Elites but finding their armor tougher than usual only one of them was actually down for the count at the end of the MP7s magazine.

Julian dodged one blade but was met by another that slid cleanly through the flesh of his right arm without hitting bone or muscle. It was painful as hell but in the process the soldier had shoved his sword into the ground. Julian managed to get out a throwing knife and toss it. The knife penetrated the armor deep enough into the soldiers chest to draw blood but not enough to mortally wound the soldier. It didn't matter, the injury bought Julian enough time to slit the soldier's throat and narrowly evade the next soldier's attack.

On his feet once more the assassin decided to tackle the last Elite to the ground and beat him to a bloody pulp with his bare hands. Jara and the others interrupted him calling him over to reveal that several of the Combine prisoners had escaped and that all the other soldiers were retreating. Julian pushed the Elite to the ground and removed the man's helmet.

"You're no Elite," Julian remarked, "You don't have any of the tubes, the markings."

"You won't get a word out of me," the man said pulling out a pistol, "I'm as good as dead anyway."

Julian tried to stop the man but it was too late. The shot resounded sending the birds that had just begun to settle down again into a frenzy once more. The soldier slumped to the ground as nothing but a bloody mess as his brain oozed onto the leaves of the forest floor.

"These aren't ordinary Combine," Julian said, "If I didn't know any better I'd say there weren't Combine at all."

"Could it be Theron again?" Jara asked, "He had some unorthodox helpers before."

"I doubt it," Alyx said, "We would have seen him by now. We would know by now that it was him... unless he was just testing our strength."

"I don't think it was Theron," Julian announced, "We need to get moving, we need to get to City 12."

Shephard entered the Assassin's Guild soaked to the bone from being out in the storm. Hassan had only just arrived having attended the memorial service. Shephard had actually beat the assassin back a feat not easy considering Hassan's skill at free running. The wise old assassin was troubled by the events of the last few days. The Templars had built a tight case against Shephard and had turned the city's sentiment against the assassins and gained the people's affection. The assassins were seen as accomplices in this fictional plot by Shephard. Hassan wondered to what lengths the Templars would go to get power over the city and eventually over the world.

"I suppose they've shown their true colors once and for all," Hassan said offering the General some dry clothes, "Deceptive snakes thirsty for blood and coursing with venom."

"Deep down Desmond was an optimist. For all his cynicism he never gave up hope that people were generally good," Shephard sad, "He wanted us to overcome the Combine together. You don't think what they said about Julian is true do you?"

"It would take more than a few Templar agents to kill that one," Hassan assured him, "I doubt that a dozen of my finest assassins could undo him. What he lacks in skill he makes up for in being extremely lucky."

"Desmond used to joke and say that Julian had one of the gods looking after him," Shephard recalled with a grin, "One of the gods... Desmond was far from a religious man. I never understood what he meant."

"Get some rest Shephard," Hassan offered, "They will be after you in the morning. I will do my best to keep you safe but even the destiny of the Assassin's Guild is unknown."

"The world really is upside down," Shephard said, "Good night friend."

Julian watched the campfire flicker as the first light of dawn appeared. They'd made it a good distance since the attack and felt safe enough to make camp and get at least some rest. Julian and sleep had been at odds that entire night but now more than ever he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. On the one hand he had Allison to worry about and the pulse that was now being nurtured within her womb. And on the other all of humanity cried out to him. He put that notion aside with a sigh realizing that most of the world still didn't know who he was. That's how the assassin wanted it - he wanted little notoriety for himself. The assassin order had always operated in such a fashion, they worked in the darkness to serve the light.

"A penny for your thoughts Mister Miles," a voice hissed from behind him. Julian turned to see the man in the blue suit, the G-Man.

"I suppose you've heard the news," Julian said turning back to the fire, "My Father is dead."

"A terrible loss of a great asset," the G-man coolly replied, "Your Father was a far more willing pawn than you at least, at first. He was so willing to help this world and so unquestioning of certain authority."

"You killed him didn't you?" Julian asked almost absent-mindedly.

"We do not kill anyone Mister Miles," he replied, "We merely allow things to run their course. I trust that you are still stubbornly refusing to play our little game? Or would like to join our employ permanently?"

"What exactly are you offering?" Julian asked noticing that the G-Man now held a familiar golden orb.

"A piece of Eden."


	7. Chapter 7: Subduction

Chapter Seven: Subduction

Shephard's heart was pumping as quickly and as powerfully as it could creating a deafening sound in his ears that made it hard to concentrate on detecting the footfalls of his pursuers. He struggled to hear them as the group of six split into two groups of three each taking a different route. One group began scaling a nearby building while the other continued barreling toward him down the street as he took them on a winding route throughout City 12 ducking between buildings and into alleyways. Shephard threw everything he could at these tenacious Templars using every skill that Desmond and the other assassins had taught him to stay out of their reach.

The General wasn't out of shape but he wasn't getting any younger either and he'd already been running for more than ten minutes at full tilt. At last he could elude them no longer as he turned a corner to find a crowd of citizens blocking his route. Shephard didn't want them endangered and he didn't want anyone to see him running from anyone. The entire city was already abuzz with the idea that he was guilty of murdering Desmond and everyone knew that he was now a wanted fugitive. Fearing the crowd would turn on him and that he had better odds against the six Templars he dashed into the protective darkness of a nearby alley which he knew to be a dead end.

The first three Templars entered the narrow passage blocking out the light. Shephard caught site of the other three scurrying over the rooftops above him. Shephard wasn't defenseless although he had no desire to hurt the men he also had no moral objections to violent self-defense. The first three pulled out their guns, ordinary pistols. Shephard smiled an imperceptibly brief smile before pulling out his own weapon. The smooth white surface and strange appearance of the gun perplexed his opponents who immediately demanded that he come quietly and place the weapon on the ground. The wily General had other ideas. Before any of the aggressors could fire off a shot Shephard had fired off two. A blue beam streaked through the air followed swiftly by an orange beam. The sound of gunfire rang out and a bullet careened toward Shephard, or more accurately, where Shephard used to be.

Shephard slipped out of the orange portal and tackled the three men standing at the end of the alleyway. Before either could get their weapons aimed his way he'd fired another orange beam this one landing beneath them. All three tumbled through the opening and fell out of the blue portal which sat against the wall where Shephard had originally been standing. The General couldn't admire his handiwork however as gunfire from the three goons on the roof hastily followed the defeat of the first three. Shephard sprinted away this time using the portal gun to traverse his way across the cityscape.

Despite making a clean getaway Shephard was far from pleased. The Templars were becoming more desperate and had begun hiring non-Templar citizens and soldiers to bring him down. Shephard was having a hard time telling the difference between those hired and trained by the Templars and those random citizens merely attempting to collect a bounty on a wanted man. Furthermore he'd revealed his secret weapon in the last altercation. The Templars would now know that he possessed the portal gun.

He sat in an empty alleyway on the outskirts of town wondering how the world had gone so wrong so quickly. A few days earlier he'd been celebrating the good health of his best friend and had been planning to join the Assassin Order. Now his best friend was dead and the City had been turned against the Order. Even as he ran he knew the Templars were plotting to further their control beyond its already impressive reach. How long would it be before all of City 12 was under their power?

Shephard stood up and lifted his hood to conceal his face. Hassan had given him his current clothing, a simplified version of typical Assassin robes designed to mimic street clothes and an arsenal of weapons. Besides the portal gun he also had throwing knives, smoke-bombs and several silenced firearms.

Adrian Shephard blended out into the crowd. If he was going to clear his name he was going to need to find out more about the Templars. There was one man he wanted to see, one poisoned young man who was hailed as a champion of the common man but who Shephard knew was a wolf in sheep's clothing - Emil Nemico.

Allison felt a pressing weight in her head. It'd been aching all day and all night and now dawn was nearing them again. They'd been pressed without stopping trying to make it to City 12 as soon as they could. The pain wasn't unbearable and neither was the lack of sleep, what was unbearable was not knowing what was troubling Julian.

Their vehicles had run out of fuel some miles back forcing them to cover the last miles to the city on foot. The forest was truly a sight to behold as the last rays of the sun splintered through the canopy to brush objects below with a golden hue. Despite all the beauty around them Allison still felt lost and afraid.

She assumed that whatever Julian was going through it was no doubt related to the death of his Father. Allison remembered sharply the grief she felt when Michael, a man whom she considered a sort of surrogate Father figure, was killed by the Combine. Michael had been her savior and for the longest time she'd deemed him as all but immortal. After all the man had evaded the Combine while hiding right under their noses for some years. Allison felt a constant desire to say something, anything, to offer solace to Julian but each sermon she summoned in her mind only rang hollow.

Allison, instead, looked to Jara and Alyx for comfort. The two women were bringing up the rear of the group keeping a look out for the Combine although admittedly Combine patrols almost never traversed this closely to City 12. Allison slowed her strides and let Julian gain some distance as Jara and Alyx caught up to her.

"How you holding up Allison?" Jara asked noting the woman's miserable expression, "We'll be to City 12 soon and then we can sleep."

"It's not that," Allison admitted, "Julian's been acting strange. What is with the sudden haste?"

"The kid just lost his Father," Alyx said, "and my guess is he's only just now feeling the full brunt of it."

"There's more than that here," Jara said and Allison nodded her agreement as Jara continued, "It has something to do with that Combine group that attacked us last night."

"My guess is that those weren't ordinary Combine soldiers," Allison theorized, "I've never seen him like this. I went up to him earlier and I looked into his eyes... there was nothing there. He's like a robot."

"Sometimes you have to numb yourself from the pain," Alyx said coldly.

"I hope that's all it is," Allison said.

Julian stopped in his tracks and held out his hand gesturing for the entire group to come to a halt. The soldiers from Hunter's Falls froze in their tracks first followed by Jara, Allison and Alyx. All three women went into crouched positions and Alyx brought up her M40 sniper rifle, a gift that Theta had secretly stowed away aboard the convoy's supplies. She peered through the scope as the hand signals shuddered through the group confirming that Julian had seen something moving in the trees ahead. Alyx could see them now, moving in and out of the shadows. A shivered coursed through her as she hoped this wasn't another attack like the one the night before.

Shephard was his usual nervous self as he stood waiting for his rendezvous. He was normally a fairly anxious person, at least he had become such in recent times and now it was amplified as the price upon his head had grown. He paced to and fro in and out of the darkened room where the meeting was to take place. The building in question was a broken down house just within the city limits that barely still had a roof and which was missing one wall. It was through that missing wall that Shephard's contact arrived escorted by three tall thin and very fit women in garments similar to his own.

Shephard hardly recognized Hassan without his actual Assassin's robe. In fact Hassan was one of the only assassins that Shephard was acquainted with who wore his robes in situations other than fighting or on actual assassin business. The two men sat at the table and the three female assassins stood as sentries watching any who might wander near the dilapidated domicile during the meeting.

"We should not be seen together," Hassan remarked quietly.

"It's the middle of the night," Shephard protested, "This is important enough."

"You've cleared our names?" Hassan asked, even in the dark he could read Shephard and knew that his hopes were unfounded.

"But I do know that Emil Nemico plans to meet with Vera and several other Templar Knights before the first light of dawn," Shephard announced, "I'm going to be there."

"I wouldn't recommend it," Hassan remarked.

"What better way to test my assassin training than a little eavesdropping?" Adrian Shephard asked with a grin.

"Very well," Hassan responded, "I too bring news. I have sent scouts out into the area around City 12 in search of Julian's remains or of Julian."

"Damned Templars," Shephard spat, "I can't believe they killed the kid."

"I would not do any believing until the facts are in," Hassan advised slipping the man a piece of electronic gear, "Safety and peace my friend."

Shephard sat in the darkness long after Hassan and the other assassins had departed. He reflected upon the hasty announcement the Templars had made of Julian's death and the lack of a body. Desmond's body was hastily cremated by the Templars in a memorial service held that afternoon, a desperate attempt to destroy any lingering evidence that would have solidified his innocence. The General began to wonder if he wasn't pressing his luck in attending Nemico's meeting with Vera. Even if he overheard every word of what they had to say what difference would it make? Did he truly believe they would be dumb enough to incriminate themselves? Would the city even believe such evidence if he did catch in on tape or would they see it as a forgery conceived by a guilty conscience trying to clear itself? Shephard sat in the dark waiting for the first light of dawn.

Julian watched the figures up ahead. He wondered, for but a moment, if his tired stress infected mind might have conjured them. This waking dream turned more than real as an arrow whizzed past just narrowly missing Julian's neck. Had it hit him Julian was sure it would have been a kill but Julian was now sure it was a shot that was not meant to be lethal - a warning. He lifted his hands in surrender as the figures folded out of the shadows and approached them openly.

In the dimming light of dusk the young assassin could barely make out their faces although many of them seemed familiar it wasn't until they drew in close that he fully recognized them. Their silent footfalls brought the four of them right up to his face. Julian grabbed the first one in a great big hug that caused the others to relax noticeably.

"Sahib," Julian sighed with palpable relief, "Jesus Christ, I thought you were going to kill us."

"Julian," the assassin exclaimed, "Allah be praised, you are alive! When Emil told the City that you were dead we could not believe him!"

"Dead?" Julian asked, "Sahib what the hell are you talking about? Tex you mind telling me what he's on about?"

"When they announced that your Father died they tried to say that you had died as well," Tex answered, he was a tall man of nearly six and a half feet with a massive muscular build that made him look truly odd near most of the lean muscled and spry assassins, "They told us you'd been killed in a Combine raid."

"We thought you dead for sure," the third assassin, a young woman with skin as dark as the night, named Ashera, said, "Hassan sent us to find the body to see if the Templars were lying."

"They've got control of the City," the fourth assassin, one that Julian did not recognize, remarked, "We had an easy time getting out but my guess is it won't be as easy getting back in."

"Goddamn Templars," Julian growled punching his fist into a nearby tree and sending splinters of bark flying, "I should have known that they'd be planning a come back, a new rise to power. They were waiting like vultures for my Father to die but when he recovered their hopes were dashed... They had him killed."

The assassin felt as if his lungs might collapse. He collapsed to the ground with his chest heaving and eyes swelling with tears that he did everything in his power to fight back. It was no use. The blinding light of obvious truth was piercing into him now. He knew that the Templars had been behind the death of his Father. The entire world felt hostile and even the nighttime sounds of the tranquil forest seemed sinister to the young assassin. With tears in his eyes he looked up at his fellow assassins and saw beside them two beautiful blue eyes set in the face of Allison Rogue. Feeling a sudden surge of new energy the fatigued young man stood and brushed the leaves and dirt from his robes and began hiking toward City 12 once more.

"We won't be able to get in the front gate," Ashera attempted with her beautiful brown eyes and insistent tone punctuating the request, "They're looking for assassins, they've turned the guards against us! They won't let us in!"

"Let them try to stop me," Julian growled, "Let them try to stop a dead man."

Emil Nemico entered the dining hall and watched as the entire room of Templar Elders stood for him. He wore a demonically charming grin as he went to each of them and shook hands with the diseased bunch. He stopped as he came to Vera Novosa. He bowed before her kissing her hand and glaring up into her blazing green eyes. He noticed the fire that burned within them. This was a woman who was going places, a woman who could take whatever she wanted. Emil merely hoped that she could see that same quality within him. He was truly proud of how quickly he'd risen in the ranks of the Templar Order and that now he had men and women who had once been billionaires in the world of men eating out of his hand.

"Now that the man of the hour is here," Warren Vidic crowed, "Let the meal and the meeting begin. Our first order of business tonight is Julian Miles. Some of our men have made contact... it is as we feared, the young assassin is still alive. His skills are many."

"What would you recommend we do about this nuisance?" One Templar asked before taking a massive gulp from his beer.

"Julian Miles is far more than a nuisance," Vidic said narrowing his eyes at the man, "Julian Miles is a threat. I recommend we kill him but not in an outright attack. We will kill him as he did his Father."

"I say we let him live," Emil Nemico interjected suddenly, all eyes turned to him with incredulity and the din of dinner died out. Once sure that he had the attention of everyone in the room he continued, "We do not have to take this City by force or even by underhanded means, no offense, when we can take it by the will of the people. Most in this city already support me. Let Julian come."

"Do not underestimate the boy," Vera said although none knew whether she referred to Julian or Emil.

"I would not," Emil clarified, "but all indications are that he doesn't want the responsibility that his Father once had. Even if he did participate in an election he would lose."

"My guess is he would not lose if he had a knife to your throat!" a voice shouted and all eyes turned toward a cloaked figure at the end of the table.

"Julian!" Vidic exclaimed trying to peer beneath the cowl and discern the identity of the man.

"There will be no witnesses to your deaths Templar scum!"

The cloaked figure sprang into action slitting the throat of the nearest Templar before disappearing and appearing on the other side of the table. Chaos was erupting and many of the Templar leaders rushed from the room. The figure once again seemed to vanish from before their eyes only to reappear this time blocking the door. Suddenly the door burst open and in stormed the guards. The man disappeared into the floor once more remerging beneath the table. Bullets were flying now as the man crawled to the other side of the table and took Vidic as his prisoner. With a blade to the old man's throat the cloaked figure made his demands.

"You will clear the name of Adrian Shephard!"

"Are you really so stupid Shephard?" Vidic asked, "You think that my death with end the Templar Order or win you anything? This meeting was being recorded Shephard, it can easily be edited to remove any sign that we did anything wrong but you, the blood is on your hands! You've lost Shephard, even if you manage to escape."

"He won't," Emil Nemico said firing a tranquilizer dart toward Shephard. The first dart missed, the second glanced off Shephard's armor but the third hit home and in moments Shephard was slumped on the floor of the dining hall, "Take him to a cell to await his trial."

"You could have killed him," Vidic suggested as several guards dragged Shephard away.

"What good would it do?" Emil asked with a shrug, "I may be heartless but I'm not brainless, the man may be useful as a bargaining chip. Besides, we can't deny the public the trial of the century."

"Like I said," Vera remarked with a wicked and sexy smile, "Don't underestimate the boy."

Julian could see the walls of the city ahead of him. His mind was brewing the adrenaline that had been set boiling by the revelation that his Father had been murdered. The city had now turned against the assassins under the false pretense that the Assassin Order had helped assassinate its own leader. Baron Brown and the Templars had soldiers posted all around the city but the group had little trouble making the distance quietly without being detected. They'd sent the six soldiers who'd accompanied them out of Hunter's Fall back with word of everything that had happened to them hoping Theta Prime could use the information. The assassin wondered if the Templar Order's tendrils touched as far south as Hunters Fall.

Now the angry assassin strode proudly and openly toward one of the city's many gates. He saw the eyes of the watchmen upon him and watched as several of them stationed atop the city wall trained their weapons toward him as he approached. Julian offered the first guard at ground level an angry glare narrowing his eyes to cut the soldier's confidence as the second guard stepped out to block him. Julian shoved past them with ease and kept walking ignoring the angry protests of the soldiers.

Another three guards stepped out to block him. The sentinels held their rifles up. Julian wasn't quite sure if any of them were Templars or not but his patience was at its end as he attempted to walk right past them as well. This time they moved to grab him. The first soldier clenched the assassin's shoulder and soon learned how much of a mistake that was as Julian grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it forcing the guard into submission. The others moved now, one attempted to hit the assassin with the butt of his gun. Julian merely slid out of the way causing the blow to strike the first soldier in the skull. The assassin moved into position behind the two who were colliding and shunted them with his shoulder to push them into the third soldier. He then swept the feet out from under all three of them.

"We are authorized to shoot," one soldier shouted from atop the city wall. A sniper bullet landed just a few inches to his right.

"So are we!" Alyx shouted.

"Let us pass damn it!" Allison shouted, "We're citizens of City 12."

"This one here's an assassin," a soldier said pointing to Julian with his gun, "We're supposed to be stopping them."

"Than stop me," Julian said coldly, he extended the hidden gauntlet blade and slipped it dangerously close to the man's neck "I dare you."

"You're not allowed in," the soldier whispered, "I'm sorry but thems the rules."

"Ballsy," Julian said with a smile before kicking the man in the nuts and then kneeing him in the face, "Very ballsy," the assassin turned now to the other soldiers, "I'm going into City 12."

"No you aren't," another soldier shouted and this one began opening fire in Julian's direction.

The spry assassin stayed ahead of the bullets hearing them impact the soil behind him as he sprinted toward the gate. He reached it and leapt behind the guardhouse listening as bullets chewed into the wooden structure and splinters flew. He heard a resounding thud like thunder and looked up to see the soldier grasping his arm atop his perch. Whispering his thanks to Alyx under his breath the assassin hit the switch inside the guardhouse to open the gate. The metallic door cranked open with a horrible gradual screech. The assassin sprung out and was not surprised when bullets began flying. He was, after all, the only target now in sight. The others had retreated to a safe distance and Julian was left drawing the fire of the guards.

The assassin made a mad dash for the now open door but was blocked by the soldier's once more. He felt a powerful remorse overcome him as his hidden blades glinted in the moonlight and the two soldiers dropped their guns and grabbed their abdomens. He entered the city but quickly turned back around and dashed up the city wall. Although plated with steel originally by the Combine much the wall was now in disrepair leaving some steel plates missing. This created just enough space for the assassin's dexterous digits to grab. Up the assassin climbed until he was toe to toe with the soldiers who were stationed here. Again remorse coursed through him as he sliced the shin of the first soldier before knocking another off of the wall to land painfully on his rear some twenty feet below.

Several more sniper shots sounded. All of the soldiers were injured now each of them too hurt to do anything to stop the group who hastily sped into the city and closed the gate behind them.

"Not the warmest of welcomes," Jara remarked as they made their way into the city, "But I sure did miss this place."

"We need to get to the Assassin's Guild," Julian said with a robotic tone, "We're going to need help."

Allison was pained to hear him talk that way, so distant and cold in his tone. She knew that numbing the pain was a necessary thing if he hoped to function with any level of efficiency. Still she also knew there was a danger to not feeling the grief that he needed to feel. She stayed close to him as they traveled into the city. Smoke appeared on the horizon and Julian's feet sped up to the point where she could no longer follow.

Over the rooftops he ran leaping from street to street and scaling buildings with ease unmatched by his fellow assassins who did their best but still barely managed to keep the maniacal man in sight. When at last they reached him they found a look of horror stained his handsome face and that same expression was upon their faces when Allison and Alyx finally arrived as well.

The Assassin's Guild sat before them as a smoldering ruin. Some beams and stones still wore flame and a billow of black smoke shot into the air and stretched up into the inky black sky above them.

"I can't believe it," Julian said pulling the remains of a fallen assassin from the building, "I can't believe that the Templars would do this. This is all my fault... I offered them a Piece of Eden. Goddamn it! I could have given it to them! I could have prevented this if that damned man in the suit hadn't taken it! This can't be happening!"

"But it is," a voice said from the shadows, Julian turned to see Hassan Aldi emerging from a nearby alley.

"Hassan!" Julian cried but he was beat to the man by Jara Aldi who embraced her father warmly, "I thought for sure you were dead."

"Most of the assassins escaped the fire," Hassan remarked, "Only two or three died at most although if the city becomes any more hostile that number may increase."

"The citizens did this?" Allison replied with a shocked expression.

"I'm afraid the Templars have poisoned them," Hassan said, "In their anxiousness they turned to new voices and have rejected the voices they once trusted to guide them. I have just received word that Shephard has been captured."

"He's alive," Julian said, "That is what matters. We will need to gather every ally we have left within this city and without. Alyx."

"Yes Julian?" Alyx responded.

"I need you to find some weapons, I don't care how, but they don't know you're with us yet. They won't be as suspicious of you especially if they know who you are."

"What are you planning on doing?" Hassan asked.

"I'm gonna bust Shephard out," Julian said as if the answer was obvious.

"Don't we have greater concerns?" Hassan asked, "The Templars now hold a great deal of power here and if they somehow get rid of Baron Brown-"

"First we get Shephard," Julian disagreed, "You can do what you want of course my friend but Shephard is my priority."

Shephard sat with slumped shoulders in his cell and breathed a deep sigh. He'd already used up much of his energy pacing to and fro in his tiny eight by twelve space. Now he was too exhausted and fatigued to pace though his mind continued on incessantly. He felt so defeated. What was left for him now?

The one sliver of hope that remained was the knowledge that Julian was still alive out there. Even if Shephard spent the rest of his life rotting in a cell the Resistance still had its last best hope in the form of Julian Miles. Shephard smiled briefly but the expression soon faded as an eerie light seemed to fill the room. A door seemed to appear in the darkness with a white light wreathing its edges. A familiar figure stepped through the door and Adrian Shephard saw his entire life flash before his eyes as he looked at the man in the blue suit.

"What's the matter General Shephard?" the man hissed, "Cat got your, tongue?"

"I thought I'd seen the last of you," Shephard sighed, "You told me that after you released me from stasis I'd be free to go. You told me I'd never see you again."

"There have been some unforeseen circumstances Shephard," the G-man replied, "My, employers have informed me that they would like to offer you a second chance. A man of your... background... is ideal and as Mister Miles has declined the offer-"

"No," Shephard shouted at the phantom, "NO! Go away! I told you already I won't be a pawn to you or your 'employers'! I will not be used no matter what you offer!"

"Than you shall die along with the rest of your species," the G-man hissed, "We offer nothing less than immortality Shephard, for those willing to be of assistance. You are far too stubborn but then, you're kind always were, especially those of your particular... background... Good evening Mister Shephard and enjoy the extinction."


	8. Chapter 8: Abyssal Descent

Chapter Eight: Abyssal Descent

The assassin's feet splashed down against the rooftop as he soared from his perch to the concrete surface below. The wind whipped through the buildings of city twelve as he pressed on into the tempest. His keen eyes cut through the raindrops and saw into the seamless darkness allowing him to catch sight of several figures converging on his position. Just as he had suspected, they'd been following him and waiting for their moment to strike.

Julian watched as several splashes landed around him the bullets that caused them burrowing into the concrete as the assassin effortlessly leaped across the expanse between the buildings and latched onto the fire escape. With his grip instantly secured the spry assassin scurried up the escape with such quickness that the next few shots fired weren't even near enough to him to be heard. Windows beneath him on the building smashed but he was already up on the roof sprinting across.

There were others moving toward him now but Julian felt no fear as he jumped the distance to the next building once more. He stopped than to catch his breath behind an air conditioning unit. Free running in the HEV suit had taken some getting used to. He sunk within himself for a moment casting aside the sound of the howling wind and the patter of the rain and the loud beating of his heart. He could hear them moving toward him now, footsteps growing closer. Someone was on the roof with him already and Julian felt an imperceptible smile on his lips as he stepped out to greet his attacker.

The man was tall, some seven feet by Julian's estimation but the assassin had faced off against fall bigger and far more imposing enemies. Still he put on a facade of fear acting surprised by the man's sudden appearance and acting even more afraid when his enemies all ended up on the roof surrounding him with silenced weapons pointed his way and smirks of superiority on their lips.

"We got the asshole boys!" the big man shouted, "We were told you'd be more of a challenge and we're mighty disappointed, aren't we boys?"

"Mighty disappointed Marco," one of them hissed, "I guess the assassins are just manipulative scum after all. They strike when their enemy has his back turned!"

"Now come quietly assassin," Marco advised turning the assassin around to put cuffs on him.

As soon as the man grabbed Julian's arm the assassin reacted, in one motion he hit the switch to extend the hidden blades on his gauntlets, he spun out of the man's grip making sure to spin downward into a crouch as he cut the man's abdomen open. The other bounty hunters began to fire their weapons but they aimed too high and their bullets struck Marco, not Julian. The assassin was already in motion before they'd realized their mistake. He rushed at the air conditioning unit as they began to fire once more and ran straight up it before launching off. He flew out straight toward them with bullets passing dangerous close and blades extended. He swept his arms out from him cutting the throats of two of the bounty hunters and than pushing their bodies into the other two enemies that remained.

Julian killed one of them and then grabbed the remaining bounty hunter by the collar. He stared into the man's eyes which now seemed to beg him for mercy but the assassin had seen the world he'd known turn to ash. He felt no remorse for the dogs that the Templars had sent to chew and spit out the assassin's.

"Is my back turned to you?" Julian growled to the man as he dangled him over the edge of the building.

"Please, I'm only doing my job," the man pleaded with his half-rotten teeth and fully rotten breath right in Julian's face, "The Templars gave us this work, they said our families would be safer without the assassins around. We just want to make a living and make the place safer for our kids!"

Julian felt his anger abating and he lowered the man onto the rooftop before him. The man stood there for a moment truly surprised that the assassin hadn't taken his life anyway. Julian felt so conflicted in that moment. He'd spent the last three weeks fending off the hunters that the Templars had sent to prey upon them. He'd hoped that in his impressive display of self-defense he would relay a message to the Templars that the assassins would not go without a fight and that they should release Shephard. Already more than four dozen would-be killers lie dead, most had attacked Julian but some had attempted to kill other assassins. Some had succeeded, eight assassins had been killed and seven others wounded by bounty hunters.

Julian turned his back on the man for a moment and began walking toward the rooftop door hoping to get out of the rain. In a split-second he heard the man turn behind him. Thunder resounded in the night for a moment blinding the assassin's ears but Julian knew enough to turn. The man was bearing in on him with a knife. The assassin had been quick but not quick enough as the knife plunged into his stomach. The bounty hunter looked into the assassin's almond eyes hoping to see pain but instead he saw anger. Julian grabbed the man's wrist and pulled the knife out in one motion making sure that the HEV suit had indeed stopped the knife from impaling him though he would likely still receive a bruise from the force of impact. The man attempted to go for his gun but before it was even out of the holster he was lying on the ground clutching his cut throat to stem the flow of blood.

"But my children," the man managed to squeak.

"The City will be safer for them without you," Julian replied coldly walking away from the dying man.

Julian did feel remorse as he walked away but he managed to stifle it, to keep it hidden and locked away beneath the numbness of apathy. Killing these bounty hunters was different from killing Combine soldiers. Or was it? Julian realized that there was very little choice for a Combine soldier to do his duty and that many Combine soldiers were not voluntarily doing as they were told. At the very least though he knew that the Combine were his enemy through and through but many of these bounty hunters were just taking a job and were genuinely lead to believe that what they were doing was for the best of city.

The body count he'd left behind had little effect on the Templars and their actions these past weeks leading Julian to believe he was now merely digging the grave deeper. The City had turned against the assassins and each time he defended himself against the Templars they gained more evidence to sway the public to believe the Assassin Order were indeed corrupt and evil. It was this that had led him to using the HEV suit rather than his assassin robes though he had modified the suit to include his dual gauntlet blades.

Julian knew he was running out of time as each day that passed drew them closer to Shephard's execution. Already the Templars had held a trial which was, of course, a mockery of truth and justice. The farce had impressed the citizenry however who now threw their support at the Templars. Just a few days earlier the last blow to the City 12 of the past was dealt when the mayor, Baron Brown, announced a city wide election to elect a new mayor. Julian wasn't sure if fear had prompted this move or if the Baron was indeed in league with the Templars but the assassin knew one thing. He was running of time.

Emil Nemico stared at his face in the mirror wearing a smirk of supreme self-satisfaction. In just a few years time he'd managed to rise through the ranks of the Templar Order growing ever closer to a position of true authority. Now, as if fate had ordained it, he was being offered a position that would grant him power over more than just fellow Templar Knights but over much of what the City and the Resistance as a whole did. Baron Brown was stepping down and amongst those names whispered as possible replacements Emil Nemico was a prime contender.

The chaos that had wracked the city after the fall of the Assassins might have been a give-away to the populace that they were too hasty in their judgment of the assassins who had helped them for so many years. It was too late for looking back, the people of City 12 instead looked forward focusing on bringing to justice the man who had killed Desmond Miles and the other assassins who had, apparently, planned Desmond's downfall. The chaos that was indeed the fault of the Templars was blamed fully upon the assassins who had been sent scurrying into the shadows as social pariah's but were not being openly hunted by the Templars. In fact Emil Nemico was planning on offering the assassins who admitted to their actions amnesty from any repercussions and the added benefit of joining the Templars if they chose.

The sly man brushed the dust off of the old suit and tie he'd managed to find in good condition. It was his restraint in dealing with Shephard and the other assassins that had allowed the City to remain fully in support of their Order. Had the Templars begun an obvious witch hunt against the assassins suspicion would have been their downfall. Instead it was ordinary angry citizens stirred into a grassroots fervor that had burned the Assassin's Guild to ashes. Those bounty hunters that the Templars did send were mostly volunteers. Due to their passive-aggressive approach the Templars were still fully in control of swaying the attitudes and desires of the people of City 12 and Emil Nemico played a part in that.

Emil turned toward the bed behind him with a grin staring at the object of his desire lying there. The shimmering surface of the object entranced him as he considered what magic lie beneath the metal that it was composed of. He laughed at the naïveté of the man who had given it to him. Was that buffoon truly under the impression that Emil Nemico owed loyalty to any but himself and the Templar Order? He picked up the object feeling it hum with energy as he moved it into his lead-lined safe.

He stepped out into the street and was met there by his body-guard a short-stature but heavily built man with a bald head. His family had come to America from Russia when he was just a child, only a few years before the invasion and his accent still hung heavy on his lips.

"You going somewhere boss?"

"Vera has requested my presence," Emil replied with a sigh, "I think that I may get her as well as the keys to the city. I'm so glad that the rain has stopped."

"You want me to come with you?" The man inquired with his strong accent.

"Not necessary friend," Emil replied patting the man on the back, "Keep an eye on the place Pyotr, keep _it_ safe."

Emil Nemico continued on into the night passing by the few citizens of City 12 who were still awake and offering them greetings. What danger was there to be protected from now?

"The City is lost," Hassan lamented as Alyx patched up one of the man's most recent bullet wounds as best she could, "It will not accept our leadership."

"It will accept mine," Julian said though his tone was uncertain, "I can win the election."

"Half the city thinks you're dead," Alyx disagreed, "The other half think that you had something to do with your Father's death."

"The Templars have continued to churn out their lies," Hassan nodded, "And many times the citizens themselves supply the paranoia and conspiracy theories."

"But if they have the actual me in front of them they may change their minds," Julian hypothesized, "I'm tired of killing anonymous bounty hunters, that just leaves corpses for them to point to and blame the assassin's for all without compromising any of their lies. If I'm out in the open at least that contradicts what the official story is."

"You can do as you wish of course," Hassan said wincing as Alyx put the last finishing touch on his wounds, "But I do not recommend going to them as an advocate of our Order."

"Very well," Julian agreed, "I'll go as me and just me with no affiliation to the assassins."

"Julian Miles, politician?" Jara asked aloud, "I don't like it."

"We can't just let the City go to the Templars," Allison argued, "We've wasted enough time, it's time to announce Julian's alive and a candidate."

"Julian Miles," Jara said shaking her head in disbelief, "Politician?"

Emil knocked nervously perfectly tapping out the pre-set password pattern that would gain him entry. The door slid open as the knock completed and Vera stood in the doorway. Her tall slinky appearance was punctuated by the elegant dress she wore this evening which brought out her brazen jade eyes. Emil was far younger than her, he knew, yet he was inexorably attracted to her. He seductive charisma was legendary and he'd often heard other Templar men whispering about the deceptively beautiful quality that she possessed. She gestured for him to enter as she eyed him up and down. Emil merely smiled as his heart swelled with pride and his mind filled with visions of Vera and himself ruling over City 12 and leading humanity to prosperity.

Emil's fantasies were shattered when he saw they were not alone, several other men sat within the apartment many of them he recognized as being established leaders of the Templar Order. Vidic was amongst them though the tired old man seemed disengaged from the entire scene and wore a blank expression. Emil sat down on a nearby sofa and Vera took up the position directly across from him on a second sofa. The dreary and rundown apartment seemed an odd place for such a meeting of prestigious and powerful minds but Emil shrugged it off and smiled confidently at Vera.

"You have served us well Emil Nemico," she began, her expressionless face and tone told Emil nothing about how to take her words, "You have proved to be pragmatic and balanced. When we first met I took you as nothing more than a child and many of my colleagues here thought it folly to give you a chance. Now we see that we want you to join us fully."

"I thought I had already joined," Emil said with a confused expression, "I've been a member of the Templar Order for years now. I'm afraid I do not understand."

"Being a Templar is not a choice," one of the elderly men interjected, "You came to us and we used you, we allowed Vera to use you. We led you to believe you were one of us... You never were. But now we want to change that."

"I just want to change things for the better," Emil said, "I'll do anything to make this city a better place and to put the Templars at the top."

"The truth is Mister Nemico," Vidic said suddenly becoming more animated, "That we are not the top and we were never meant to be. We have done our best to pave the way for those that are our superiors, our benefactors, those that want to help the human race... evolve."

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Emil replied trying to remain calm as the conversation continued, "I want to see the Resistance defeat the Combine, I want to see the human race be free."

"Your ideals do not suit your methods," Vera said, "You were willing to kill in order to become who you are, you were willing to endorse and commit crime to get us back into power. It is clear that the freedom of the human race is not ideal."

"I see," Emil replied finally understanding what was at play here, "Than where is our species going?"

"In time Mister Nemico," Vidic replied, "In time."

"For now just know that we want you to be one of us," Vera explained, "And that we are proud of you, Mayor Nemico."

Julian watched over Allison like a sentinel as she slept. The broken down building they currently called home wasn't even within the city wall but that instilled Julian with no confidence that the guards and bounty hunters wouldn't find them. The assassin watched her chest rise and fall feeling the weight on his shoulders dissipate more with each breath she took. Whenever he was low, whenever his soul descended into the abyss, he could always look to her to rescue him. The turmoil of his mind often ceased just with a look from her crystal blue eyes. Knowing that within her new life was being woven only multiplied that feeling. No matter how the world collapsed around them he would always shelter her and she would always anchor him.

The silence in the room was deafening and Julian turned toward his workroom. He entered and sat down pulling several parchment fragments from the desk. They were pieces of a Codex he'd recovered from the charred wreckage of the Assassin's Guild. Despite having managed to piece the parchment together until it was almost whole he wasn't exactly an expert on ancient languages. He stared at the scroll before him struggling to figure out what it said but knowing that the past held clues to the present predicament. His Father had often told him that the coming of the Combine was foretold to him, or rather to Ezio Auditor de Firenze.

Something came over the assassin than in what felt like a flash of lightning. He closed his eyes as a searing light coursed through him. As they opened and regained focus he soon turned his gaze back to the parchment only to find the words upon it no longer foreign to him. He still struggled to make sense of it as the words upon it were but a fragment of a larger story and some parts of the parchment were scorched beyond reading.

_They had made them male and female first. Before the garden they were [text missing]. Kept in mental darkness and made to believe that [text missing] who had made them. One was made different than the others. In the Garden he lived with the mate that they had made for him. Their blood spread out from the [text missing] mankind and it was said that they had more of the gods in them than the [text missing]. The man of the garden could not be ruled by the tools the gods had forged, the controls that they had created and rebellion swiftly..._

Julian stepped away from the room with strange emotions now coursing through him. What had just happened? Could it have been a bleed-through from his time in the Animus some years ago? Clearly he had no natural reason to suddenly know the language scribbled on the scroll and yet here he was reading it. The assassin tossed out his own translation for a moment believing it a likely a fabrication of his stress worn mind. He sat back down and slumped into his seat. Another flash filled his mind bringing with it images of the G-Man and of the Sword of Eden that the assassin had once held.

Julian donned the HEV suit and grabbed his silenced USP and XM-8 and stepped out into the early dawn. Already it was warm as Spring had begun its transition into Summer almost as soon as May had come. The assassin stepped up to the Vortigaunts who lingered outside the house. Their kind was usually welcomed in the city but recent surges in xenophobia had forced many respectable Vortigaunts from their homes into squalid conditions. Many had fled the city believing an impoverished life free of prejudice was far better than luxury in a city of intolerance.

"What will we tell the Allison Rogue when she awakens?" one of them asked as he walked by.

"Tell her I'm going to pay respects to my Father," Julian said.

Emil Nemico sat in his room staring into his mirror but on this particular morning he was taking little pleasure in his reflection. He'd never been a man of strong moral conviction so long as the end goal justified the means. He'd used crime and deception to take the City from the Assassins and some had even been killed in the process of procuring that power, chief among them being Desmond Miles himself. But all of that had been, he believed, to help better humanities chance, as a whole, of gaining freedom from the Combine. Now he was being told otherwise explicitly.

There was no turning back however and Emil Nemico was more than willing to put his own opinions aside to please those who were granting him power. He was about to become the mayor of City 12 one of the last remaining human controlled cities in the entire world. He would have access to luxury that most human beings no longer experienced. The comforts of the old world had passed away but now they were making a come back.

A knock at the door alerted Nemico and he turned to see his body guard standing in the doorway wearing an innocent look.

"Sorry to interrupt you boss," Pyotr started, "There is someone who is here to see you. He says that he can help you with a certain problem."

"Thank you Pyotr," Nemico said, "But tell the man in the blue suit that I won't be seeing him today."

"Begging your pardon Emil but this isn't no man and he isn't wearing no blue suit."

"Send him in then," Emil replied conceding defeat on the subject and putting on a positive demeanor. His warm facial expression faded entirely when the gangly alien stepped into the room menacing over Emil, "Who are you?"

"My name is Theron," the alien answered, "And I want to kill Julian Miles."

Julian felt an intense chill frost its way from his toes up along his spine and into his brain as he entered the apartment. He'd expected to find it just the way his Father had left it but instead the suite was torn apart. Chairs were tossed across the room or broken, desks were torn apart and paper documents were everywhere. The room had been ransacked. This wasn't action carried out by ordinary looters, Julian knew, for nothing was missing but everything was out of place.

This was the assassin's last hope. He'd already searched the ruins of the Guild house once again and checked on every hideout or safehouse the Assassin Order had throughout City 12 to no avail. It seemed a silly idea that Desmond would have kept such precious and potentially dangerous items at his publicly known address. He pushed the doors aside and entered his Father's bedroom. His swift eyes barely detected the shape of something moving toward him now, the glint of steel apparent as the blade reached out toward him. He stood with the sharp blade pressing dangerously against his neck and watched as the man stepped out from the shadows.

"Nemico?" Julian asked recognizing the man from his political posters.

"You didn't think getting the Pieces of Eden would be this easy did you?" Nemico scoffed, "We searched this place but we never found them. They aren't here."

"If they aren't here than why are you here?" Julian growled.

"To settle the score," Nemico smirked, "The world has already buried you, the public have already said their goodbyes. It is time to have a body to match those obituaries."

"You think that simply because you have a blade to my neck that I'm afraid of you?" Julian laughed quietly, "I could kill you where you stand before you could slit my throat."

"I've no doubt that you could," Nemico replied removing a familiar spherical object from within his clothes and holding it before Julian, "But you won't be able to."

Emil held out the Apple and watched as it's power enveloped Julian in golden fire. The Templar lifted his prey from the ground as Theron emerged from the nearby closet through a secret room hidden behind it. In his hands he clutched as massive chest that looked ancient. Julian recognized it as an Auditore relic as the alien bounty hunter dropped it with a thud, the sound of metallic objects clanging together informing Julian as to what was in that chest.

"You see my friend," Emil said to Theron as he telepathically began to crush down on Julian's body, "I told you that I didn't need your help."

Julian felt another flash like thunder in his bones and suddenly he fell free of the power of the Apple.

"Perhaps you need help after all," Theron chided lifting his pulse rifle to fire at Julian.

Julian brushed off the strangeness of his sudden freedom from the orbs energy and dashed behind cover as quick as he could. Splinters of wood flew all around him as round after round emerged from the Pulse Rifle Theron was carrying. It was clear that this was no ordinary weapon and was likely a prototype like the weapons Alyx had described back at Hunter's Fall.

"My masters will praise me when I bring them the head of Julian Miles as they did when I came to them with the plan to poison your Father!" Emil shouted as Theron stopped firing and allowed the man to move toward where Julian was cowering, "You disappoint me master assassin, your Father would be disgraced to see you cowering like a ra-"

Julian had his own blade to the man's throat before he could even finish his sentence. The young assassin felt hatred for this man coursing through every last neuron of his brain yet he didn't kill the man.

"You will not win," Julian whispered realizing that the man looked tired and was breathing heavily, "This isn't Eden."

"Cut his throat and be done with it!" Theron shouted ambiguously.

Julian turned his back and began to walk away from the Templar which only infuriated the prideful narcissist further. Nemico lifted the Apple of Eden using every bit of psychic will he possessed to grab Julian once more but the assassin wasn't affected. With almond eyes narrowed to angry slits the assassin turned on the man and stepped up to him and took the Apple right from his hands.

"How!" Nemico asked feeling truly at the mercy of the assassin.

Julian dived out of the way as gunfire filled the air once more. He watched as Emil Nemico too hit the deck narrowly avoiding the bullets of his supposed ally the bounty hunter. Julian loathed what he was about to do but he realized that given his situation there was little choice. He clutched the sphere in his hands and sunk into himself focusing his willpower into it. Golden arcs of electricity sparked from the orb forming a circular shield around the assassin. He stood now and marched toward Theron watching the pulse rounds vaporize before they had a chance to impact him. He sent a shockwave out from the sphere, one that sapped his strength and momentarily made him lose balance but which had even great effects on Theron as the hunter was launched across the room and smashed against the wall leaving a hole in the hardened plaster as he fell barely conscious to the floor. Julian picked up the chest that contained the other Pieces of Eden. The Apple seemed to glow brighter as it neared its brethren.

"You're capture was going to lead me right to her," Theron gasped. Julian took out his pistol and emptied a fifteen round magazine into the alien assassin.

"We're going to get you assassin," Emil shouted after Theron was dead, "Your kind are a dying breed!"

"Human kind is a dying breed," Julian replied, "But I'm going to change all that."

"We would have made wonderful allies," Emil remarked as the assassin ran off. The Templar collapsed amidst the rubble that was formerly Desmond's apartment. His entire body felt weakened by using the Apple. He was filled with profound dread and confusion. Was he on the right side? Was there even a right side of be on? Did he care which he was on? What was the man in the blue suit going to say when he found out that Emil had lost the Apple? Emil Nemico felt truly lost as he lay there descending further into an abyss of confusion.


	9. Chapter 9: Prodigy

Chapter Nine: Prodigy

Emil Nemico sulked in his room feeling more and more like a scolded child as he listened to Vera's rant. The woman was furious and to a great extent Emil understood the sentiment. He'd only the day before informed them of his failure to protect certain assets that the Templars had rumored were present in the room of the late Desmond Miles. It wasn't something that had been his responsibility expressly but it was a matter of utmost importance and failure was not looked upon kindly by the Templar Order. Vera was just beyond his bedroom door which she had shut to protect both the man's ears and his life for fear that she would lose herself in the vitriolic rage with which she was consumed.

Emil's eyes fled to the nearby window wondering if he could sneak out into the night and vanish into the streets of City 12. The idea vanished from his mind as Vera's rant at last came to his true failing, the one thing he had been entrusted with, the destruction of Julian Miles. The young assassin had proved more than elusive and even when his bounty hunters caught up to Julian they seldom came away from the confrontation alive. None had been successful at killing the skilled son of Desmond Miles. Rumors were returning to the streets of City 12, whispers that could not be tolerated. The people of City 12 could not be allowed to know that the Assassin Order was still alive and, more importantly, that Julian was.

"I will not fail again," Emil promised somewhere between shouting and whispering, "I promise you Vera. I am loyal to the Order."

"Loyalty is not the issue here!" Vera shouted in protest banging her fist against the door to emphasize each syllable, "Julian Miles must die! We are running out of time!"

"I'll kill him, I'll do it myself if I have to," Emil replied mustering all the sincerity he could.

"No Emil," she whispered quietly, "I should have never become entangled with you. I'm going to see to it that he dies Emil."

"Do you think he will be brave enough to attend the trial tomorrow?" Emil asked reveling in the knowledge that Adrian Shephard would soon be dead.

"Julian Miles is a loyal friend," Vera reasoned, "But he is also not stupid. He will be there but do not expect him to be obvious. Killing him will have to wait until after the trial. Don't worry about it, I have a plan."

Emil breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the door to his apartment shut behind her. He'd come to be romantically involved with Vera these past weeks despite her being two decades his senior she maintained the beauty of a woman in her prime. Now that decision seemed to be biting him in the ass as the closer they became the more critical of him she was. He wondered what plans she possessed that would lead to Julian's demise. Everything he had tried to kill the assassin had failed including his short-lived alliance with the alien bounty hunter Theron.

The election was approaching and tomorrow Adrian Shephard would get what was coming to him. By all accounts the Templars had the trial bought and paid for likely before the court date was even set. Originally the others had shied away from a public trial but Emil had suggested they fake evidence that would leave Shephard and the other assassins reviled even more in the minds of the citizens. It was his decision to leave the trial open to the public, indeed to hold the trial in the public square. He would show the world the true face of the Assassins and thus solidify the Templars as the obvious choice to lead the Resistance against the Combine.

Emil lay back on his bed and put his hands behind his head. He set aside his confusion and let visions of his future time as leader of City 12 swell within his mind. Soon this stress would be a thing of the past and he would have the world at his feet. He would rebuild the world of men all on his own he decided with the Templar Order at his side the Combine would soon fall before him. With his ego fully stroked and his fears allied he yawned and drifted off to sleep.

Julian stepped out into the early morning May air. There was a warm breeze and bright blue skies but even all that beauty could not change the grave mood that filled the young assassin. The City looked old and cruel to his eyes as he slipped the Apple of Eden into his jacket. He was dressed inconspicuously in a brown hooded jacket and a tattered pair of jeans some three decades old.

The assassin yawned as he began his trek into the city. He'd been tossing and turning all night to the point that Allison had sent him to sleep on the sofa. His mind was filled with turmoil about what he was about to do but he knew that his decision could potentially save the Assassin Order from extinction. Originally he had planned to use the Piece of Eden to sway the masses, perhaps win himself the election but now he had other plans with it, far less selfish plans. Besides, he reminded himself, he wasn't even on the ballot yet, almost the entire city still thought him dead.

He took his time picking his way through the streets to avoid areas heavy with Templar guards or Emil Nemico's bounty hunters. He even had to worry about the ordinary Resistance soldiers as the Templars had agents amidst their ranks who were on the look-out for him as well. Normally he would have traveled across the rooftops gliding gracefully from block to block but more stealthy measures were called for now. Julian stayed in the darkened alleyways winding his way slowly through the city until at last he saw the thick crowd of onlookers in the square gathered around to watch the trial of the century.

Julian's sharp assassin eyes cut across the distance to see Shephard standing, still cuffed, on stage. A jolt of urgency crossed his mind but he stifled the urge to barrel through the crowd and instead began wading through unnoticed. He blended perfectly with the normal citizenry, their ragged old clothing matching his own worn garments. The assassin wasn't totally unprepared however, beneath his jacket and shirt he wore a layer of thin chain-mail he'd taken from amongst his Father's belongings.

The assassin came to a halt near the front of the crowd but kept behind two bulky gentlemen. There were guards everywhere many of them armed with sniper rifles as if they were expecting interruptions. The Prosecutor was none other than Emil Nemico himself. Julian watched as the Templar put his evidence out, all of it fabricated except for several quotes mined from Shephard to make him look sinister. Julian cursed himself for he'd arrived towards the end of the proceedings and he'd hoped to gain some knowledge of the faux evidence manufactured to put his friend to death. Emil was quickly finished.

"Your honor, the evidence seems clear," Emil said turning with a bow toward the Judge, a man who had sat on Baron Brown's city council for years, "Shephard and the other assassins planned the death of Desmond because they wanted power and he was a true and great leader. If anyone can say otherwise, if anyone can speak in defense of this monster, than let him... No one! Do you have anything to say for yourself Shephard?"

"Fuck you," Shephard growled spitting on Nemico's face, "You know damn well this a farce. If you want to see a guilty man go find yourself a mirror!"

"Need more be said?" Emil asked the crowd before wiping off the spit and bowing to the judge, "There is no one to defend him and so I defer to you your honor."

Despite every instinct within him crying out for action Julian stayed steadfast. He reached his hand into his pocket and locked his gaze on the Judge who whispered back and forth with Vidic and several others. At first the assassin thought his attempts were failing but soon enough the judge became entranced, for but a few moments he locked eyes with Julian and then he stepped forward toward a microphone at center stage. Julian noted the supremely victorious smirk on Emil Nemico's face and felt an imperceptible smile emerge on his own.

"I have reached a verdict," The Judge began, "I, the honorable Judge Brady, find the defendant not guilty."

The crowd grew immediately silent and the smile vanished from Emil Nemico's face. The young Templar looked to Vidic whose ancient face too was screwed up in confusion. Vera and several others rushed onto the stage towards the Judge to engage him in conversation.

"Not guilty?" Emil Nemico asked loud enough for the first rows of the crowd to hear.

Julian chuckled as he took advantage of their distraction to climb onto the stage. Guards moved toward him now but it was too late he was standing right beside Emil Nemico. Julian grabbed the microphone and turned his back on the man to face the crowd.

"Who the hell are you?" He heard the man ask.

"I'm the man you've been trying so hard to kill," Julian replied taking down his hood to reveal his face to the crowd, "I'm the man whose Father you killed."

"Nonsense," one of the Templars replied, "Adrian Shephard killed Desmond Miles."

"Did he?" Julian asked, "Judge Brady disagrees."

"The man is not guilty!" The Judge repeated again, "I'm sure of it!"

"Retrial! Retrial!" Emil Nemico shouted and many in the crowd took up the chant, "Clearly the assassins have the Judge in their pocket! Why else would he be here?"

"I am here to clear the name of Shephard," Julian said with a bow, "But I see the law has already done that. Justice has been done and he will be free!"

The crowd exploded into applause at that although there were some boos in various pockets of the populace.

"I am here to do one other thing," Julian said, "To prove to you all that I am alive and that Emil Nemico is a liar! More than that - I am going to run for Mayor of City 12!"

Once again the crowd erupted and this time the applause drown out those who decided to boo. Julian walked up to Shephard as the guards unlocked his cuffs. Julian embraced the man warmly on stage rousing another round of applause that drown out the disapproving jeers of all those in the crowd who swore allegiance to the Templar Order.

"I knew you weren't dead," Shephard said, his gruff voice cracking with emotion, "I can't believe I'm free."

Emil Nemico felt utterly humiliated and afraid. His eyes searched for Vera but once they found her he averted his gaze from hers. Her pupils seemed narrowed into serpentine slits and each time he crossed their path he felt as if he'd been poisoned by their venom. He was not a weak man or one who was prone to fear but he knew that she couldn't be pleased by this new development. The whole city now knew that Julian Miles was still alive.

The Templar looked out the crowd who still chattered and applauded away as Julian and Shephard walked through the crowd. Could he dare move against the assassin openly? Could he even dare to move against him secretly? The citizens certainly seemed approving of his return. Emil Nemico set aside his doubts and mustered his once prominent confidence. He would win the election no matter what he decided, whether Julian was dead or alive.

The Stalkers lumbered down the corridor their sickly legs tapping against the cold steel of the fortresses floor. They had been activated for the first time in several months and that could mean only one thing, Theron had failed. With their fingers and extremities breaking the icy cocoons that sleep had set upon them they set out to do their task. Sleep Mode was never a comfortable thing and even less comfortable in the cold air of the station. Luckily the station was warming now, the automatic climate adjustment system was reactivated after its slumber and artificial gravity had also re-engaged.

The door hissed in protest, its wires and gears still tired from their three months of slumber. The Stalkers were nearing the chamber now. Each pod was marked by a number and a letter of the Greek Alphabet, a system of organization that the Combine had found most useful. Four of the pods were activated in rapid succession. The thawing process was beginning. Soon four synthetic assassins would be born into the world fully formed and ready to kill.

The sickly Stalkers turned toward the nearby portal and punched in the correct coordinates. An image on the terminal appeared, the inside of a Citadel on Earth. Behind the Stalkers sat a massive window with a view of the Earth, still so blue despite the best efforts of the Combine Empire. The Stalkers went about their business without ever noticing the view, their human selves long dead inside though their flesh was still functioning.

"Theron is dead?" A harsh voice asked over the intercom in a language clearly not of Earth.

"We have received our orders," one of the Stalkers replied.

"Is Alyx Vance still the prime target?" The alien voice asked again.

"No," the Stalker replied, "There is another. You will be meeting with a woman on Earth, she has requested your services personally."

Adrian Shephard had once spent more than a year in stasis. He scarcely understood what that meant and barely remembered any of it other than a bright light and a pounding headache. Since that incident he'd spent much of his time in and out of prisons. The Combine had a thing for correctional institutions although their form of rehabilitation often involved mind probes and cybernetic implants. Shephard had always avoided such things and he'd always escaped. In many ways it wasn't Combine prisons he feared but those run by the most ruthless species he knew, men.

"We're so caught in the fact that the Combine are tying to destroy us that we forget we are the greatest threat to ourselves," Shephard remarked taking a bite of his breakfast.

"I think this food is the greatest threat," Julian joked poking at the bowl of unidentifiable gray-brown chunks bathed in inedible sauce of some kind, "Lighten up Shephard you've just gotten out of prison."

"They're going to try and kill us," Shephard argued, "Fucking Templar bastards."

"Jesus Christ man do you ever stop?" Julian laughed and this time Shephard did join him.

The two had spent much of the day before touring the City visiting business and citizens in attempts to drum up support for Julian's campaign. This morning they had hoped to get an early start but Julian had awoken late.

"We'd have made it halfway across the city if you'd gotten up before noon," Shephard complained again.

"I told you already Allison kept me up," Julian said, "Maybe you've never had a pregnant wife before."

Shephard went quiet all of a sudden as if Julian had put a blade through his heart. The man's already pale face blanched even whiter and Julian felt the profound silence was thick enough in the air to make him choke. He swallowed down his food and walked forward with the man allowing the General to have time to think. Julian had known Shephard for years and the man had never, to his knowledge, married or had a wife. Other than a few girlfriends that Julian vaguely remembered meeting in his youth the assassin couldn't recall Shephard having any romantic contact at all. As a military man dedicated to the survival and success of the Resistance romance just always seemed far from Shephard's busy mind.

"You did have a wife?"

"I did," Shephard announced quietly, "I never mentioned her."

"You never mentioned her to anyone," Julian agreed taking another bite of his food before finding the nearest trash can to throw away the rest.

"I was nineteen when we married," he said, "I met her in boot camp, before I joined the HECU. She was beautiful kid, a fox if ever there was one, and she could beat the shit out of anybody, even me if she wanted to."

"What happened to her?" Julian asked realizing that the man had stopped walking with him and was now several feet behind sitting on a bench.

"Combat happened," he replied, "She deployed to the desert. In the last letter I got from her she said that she had just found out she was pregnant. They were going to send her home when the truck she was riding in hit an IED."

"You never told anyone," Julian replied sadly.

"Not even your Father," Shephard admitted with a sigh, "It was old business. Everyone lost everyone after the Combine came, I had no right to feel sad or bring up emotional baggage."

"You have every right to feel, what makes us human. That's what makes us better than them," Julian argued gesturing toward the ruins of the former Citadel that once stood in City 12.

"I suppose you're right," Shephard said mustering a smile, "Come on kid, let's go win us an election."

The ship touched down just a few hundred feet from where the fight was taking place. The Combine soldiers had the metallic beast surrounded but his movements had proved too hard to predict and his hide was too thick to be penetrated by bullets. Even pulse rounds seemed to graze off his metallic structure with ease as he tore into the Overwatch ranks with his powerful robotic hands. Growling in frustrated anger at the fact that his search still proved fruitless he rushed toward the Overwatch APC that now rolled toward him firing rockets as it did and met it head-on. Up into the air the APC rose held up by the unbreakable canine who cast the vehicle aside as easily as a child throwing a pebble.

"Impressive isn't he?" An alien voice inquired in broken English to her four companions, "Bring him down but do not fully destroy him. He will be of use to us."

"It will be done Mistress," Alpha said turning his synthetic eyes, shrouded as they were beneath his hi-tech helmet complete with heads-up-display, towards his new leader.

Together the four synthetic assassins moved toward the metal menace known as Dog. The remaining Combine soldiers served as distractions as the four of them lifted their weapons and began to fire. Each one held a directed energy pulse weapon known as a Depth Gun it was designed to penetrate the very atomic structure of the enemy to cut them apart molecule by molecule. For something as dense as Dog however this was no easy task and despite several dents appearing in his armor their efforts seemed fruitless.

Dog knocked aside a nearby row of Overwatch before turning his single orange eye toward his new enemies who continued to fire their weapons. Dog rushed the first punching out to hit him only to hit empty space as the assassin leapt away. They were all too quick for his reflexes despite how well he'd been designed. Dog did his best to keep them at bay but their weapons were too strong, he felt bits and pieces of his circuitry being torn apart by the directed beams of the Depth Guns. He managed to swing out his arm and anticipate where one would run crushing the one marked Delta into the trunk of a large tree leaving him leaking red and blue synth-blood on the forest floor.

Dog, realizing he couldn't win, tried to run but several directed beams left the joints in his legs paralyzed. He collapsed to the ground and watched as the leader of his enemies approached from her ship and stood before him. Her grotesquely insect like features were entirely alien to Dog who had never seen anything like her before. She had no lips and instead possessed what seemed like an insectoid beak of sorts which opened into what Dog took as a sickly smile, rows of shimmering teeth ran both horizontal and vertical in the strange creature's mouth.

"And now," she said lifting her wrist and flipping a switch marked EMP, "You sleep."

Julian felt truly strange up on stage. He was never truly an unknown to the world, most in the Resistance knew his name or at the very least knew the name of his Father. Now it seemed he had big shoes to fill and to many of the citizens this run at succeeding Baron Brown was a fitting endeavor. To Julian the whole thing was alien. Politics was not his strong-suit, indeed the entire process seemed entirely pointless with the Combine out there plotting against them. Still he had the opportunity to re-forge the shattered image the Assassin Order had received.

"The Assassins didn't kill my Father," Julian said to a small crowd of about three hundred onlookers, this was his seventh speech in the three days since he'd announced his candidacy with the crowds steadily growing, "Do not blame them for the troubles of this City. I know how you feel, I know you want action. I can't offer you perfection or paradise and I will not make hollow campaign promises like Emil and the others who are running will. The one promise I will make is that I will see that you remain free from the encroachments of power, whether they be from humanity or from the Empire."

The crowd applauded but their cheers lacked the sort of enthusiasm Julian had hoped his little speech might muster. He was no master of rhetoric but he felt that he would be a far better choice than Emil Nemico. It mattered little what his opinion on the matter was, Nemico was popular with the people and had spent a great deal of time earning that reputation while his Templar allies smeared the name of the Assassin Order. Despite all that Julian still felt he had a chance of winning.

The young assassin stepped out amidst the crowd greeting citizens with a hand shake and stopping to kiss a few babies. Seeing the children caused his mind to swirl with emotions. There was more at risk here than a mayoral election and the status of the Assassins. The future of the human race may well rest in City 12.

Julian walked along the city streets whistling a happy tune. He was going to be glad to get back to Allison. He hated leaving his pregnant wife at home all day alone when the city was crowded with enemies. He knew that Alyx often stopped by to keep her company when she wasn't practicing with Jara for her eventual initiation into the Assassin Order. The idea had been Julian's of course, one he'd first expressed to her back in Hunter's Fall before the news of his Father's death had reached him. Now it seemed it would become a reality any day now. The thought of Alyx's shapely body in an assassin robe caused Julian's conscience to scold him.

A sound off to his left caught his attention. Several figures were scurrying about in the darkness causing the assassin to reflexively reach for his gauntlet blade switch. Cursing himself for leaving home without so much as a throwing knife the assassin dodged out of the way as an Asian man about three inches shorter than him barreled past with several men who seemed twice the size of their target in pursuit.

"Get back here Cheng!" One of the men shouted.

"We want our money!" another added!

Julian reflexively put his foot out tripping the last man of the group. Before the angry thug could even get to his feet Julian had knocked him out cold and taken the man's switch blade knife. Julian breathed a sigh of relief truly glad that some excitement had found him to break the routine of his current life in politics. His quick feet found him rushing along the rooftops keeping pace easily with the ruffians who were chasing the man, Cheng, down in an attempt to apparently collect on some debts. The assassin cringed when he realized that Cheng had himself cornered in a dead end alley. With a smirk the assassin waited for his moment, until the three thugs had surrounded Cheng, before he dropped down behind them.

Julian purposefully hit the ground with an audible thud turning the attention of the three. The first found his feet swept out from under him, the second got a kick to the groin, a knee to the stomach and an elbow to the back of the head and the third had a knife to his throat before he could even flip the switch on his own switch-blade knife.

"What are you some kind of fucking assassin?" the thug asked nervously.

"Something like that," Julian said with his head cocked, "Now leave Mister Cheng alone."

"You got it," the thug agreed, "We were just leaving."

"Why is this shit always happening to us?" the other thug asked as the three of them ran away.

"Thank you," Cheng said breathing a sigh of relief, "I'm Cheng Yin."

"Looks like you fell in with the wrong crowd," Julian said checking to make sure the coast is clear.

"You're Julian Miles aren't you?" The man asked with a grin shaking Julian's hand, "Thank you so much Mister Miles, I must repay you. In fact I have to give you something."

"That's not necessary," Julian said trying to pry his hand away from the man.

"I insist," Cheng said with an enthusiastically insistent tone, "It won't take long, my home is nearby."

Julian followed the man back to his home checking each corner carefully for any signs of the thugs and every so often checking his watch as well. He stepped into Cheng's strange home feeling stupid for having resisted the man. The walls were covered with blades, gun parts, odds and ends of all sorts of metal and robotic parts. Piles of gadgets and gizmos of various sorts sat nearby along with a miniature device that looked a lot like a teleportation terminal he'd once seen. Cheng saw his interest in the device and grabbed a small box of oranges nearby and placed them on the teleport pad. Julian watched as arcs of energy swirled in the air. The oranges appeared, though their peels were a bit scorched.

"Been meaning to work out the kinks in that," Cheng remarked.

"Its amazing," Julian said, "Where did you learn to build something like this?"

"My Father. He was an inventor, a scientist, he worked for a company called Abstergo," Cheng replied and though the assassin hardly reacted Cheng could sense the tension in the pause that followed, "You know the place don't you? The boss there, a man named Vidic, he forced him to work on many secret projects, it was years ago but in return he funded independent research after that. Now the Templars demand that I pay them back for what they claim my Father stole."

"Those thugs worked for Vidic?" Julian asked now regretting that he hadn't killed them when he had the chance. Cheng nodded.

"I've got something for you, a sword I think you will find most interesting," Cheng said pulling out an exquisite blade forged of black-blue steel, "The metallic composition is unique, I've never seen a tougher blade, its almost as if it was forged from the same metal as the Citadel itself. It will deflect Dark Energy grenades and pulse rounds, at least in theory."

"Incredible," said admiring the blade, "I tell you what, if you vote for me in the election I'll buy all my blades and inventions from you, deal?"

"Deal Mister Miles," Cheng replied excitedly.

"And if you have any other trouble with those thugs this is where you can find me," Julian said handing the man a small slip of paper with an address on it, "In the meantime I better go. Thank you for the sword."

"No problem," Cheng replied as he waved goodbye.

"Is he gone?" a voice asked a few moments later.

"He's gone," Cheng reluctantly answered watching as the three thugs emerged from his back room and took the paper from him.

"What an idiot that assassin was," the first thug said looking at the address before turning to his two cohorts "Tell Emil that we have the information. You did well Cheng."

"And my debts?" The man asked.

"We'll see how good your information is," the thug replied cruelly.

"But you said if I help you-"

"How much help you've really been of has yet to be determined," the thug growled, "In the meantime don't go nowheres."

"We've extracted the information," one Stalker announced, "Nothing useful regarding the whereabouts of Alyx Vance."

"Pity," the alien beside them cooed before turning toward her three remaining assassins, "We leave for City 12 immediately."

"What do you want us to do with it?" the other Stalker asked.

"Destroy it for all I care," the shimmering skinned beast replied before setting off into the night.

Julian arrived home and held his new sword up to the light admiring the quality craftsmanship of the blade. He scarcely noticed that Allison had entered the room and was giving him a glare that would have cut him down to size in an instant. She cleared her throat to alert him, at last, to her presence. The assassin turned to regard her and saw the hurt expression she wore. He offered a warm smile and moved to kiss her but she brushed past him to admire the sword on the table pretending to be entirely uninterested in him.

"It's beautiful," Allison remarked with a sigh.

"Yes you are," Julian replied trying to repair any damage he'd done in being so late coming home, "A friend gave it to me, returning a favor."

"No," Allison replied and Julian gave her a confused look wondering what he had said that she disagreed with, "I've seen this blade before."

"What do you mean?" Julian asked but Allison's look suddenly went distant. Julian watched her eyes roll into the back of her head, she swooned nearly falling to the floor. Julian's quick reflexes saved her from falling and the assassin carried her to bed and lay her down. She looked up at him as if awakening from a long dark sleep.

"Ressian," she whispered incoherently, "Ressian Malil. They were heavily entrenched around the Temple. GODDAMN IT! THESE AREN'T THE FUCKING VIETCONG! She's not human."

Julian put his hand to her forehead hoping against all hope to absorb the pain from her troubled mind. After several minutes of babbling and ranting and tossing and turning she awoke. Julian lay beside her and held her close and together the two talked each other to sleep hoping to forget the whole incident. Hoping against all hope that it had been nothing but a dream.

Emil Nemico watched Vera walking toward him. Her sexy figure inspired fear instead of arousal now although the two were not always mutually exclusive in Emil's experience. There was a second figure with her, one that Emil Nemico immediately recognized as inhuman, one that made him want to leap from his skin and run away. He knew that the Templars sometimes share allies with the Combine but he was not fully used to the idea. Theron, his brief ally, hadn't been at all unsettling in appearance but as Vera's companion stepped into the light Emil Nemico's strength left his bones.

The hideous black exoskeleton like skin, if it could be called skin, that covered the creature made Emil Nemico's skin crawl. Her face bore four eyes, black pinhole like eyes that looked too artificial to have evolved naturally. The alien's hands were two fingers short of human and her feet, if it could be called a her, were armed with two razor sharp claws and a third diminutive one in the middle. All along her body were small protruding black spires, like the hairs that might have covered a spider's legs. Accompanying the two women were three others who seemed, for the most part, to be human and their company allowed Emil to loosen up a bit.

"I told you that I had a plan," Vera announced with a self-satisfied smirk.

"An alien bounty hunter?" Emil asked wondering if the grotesque monster could even understand English.

"Assassin!" Vera corrected loudly, "She's from a very special order of Assassins that come highly recommended."

"You're sure she can do the job?" Emil asked, "The last bounty hunter didn't do so well."

"I assure you that I do not share much in common with that buffoon Theron," the alien assassin interjected annunciating slowly so to be understood, "I will kill Julian Miles."

"Emil Nemico," Vera said with another grin, "Meet Ressian Malil."


	10. Chapter 10: Requiem

Chapter Ten: Requiem

Jara Aldi stretched as far as she could but it was no use, the handhold was still just out of reach of her arm. From a precipice of superiority some twenty feet up Alyx sat with a smirk of smug satisfaction watching Jara's futile ordeal. Jara continued for a few more moments aligning herself with another window and then trying to traverse the distance again. She couldn't reach. With a sigh of defeat she glanced up to Alyx who was obscured in front of the blaring midday sun and asked for her assistance.

Soon both women stood squarely on the roof of the five story building. Jara was catching her breath and Alyx continued basking in the light of her unmitigated success in scaling the building. Jara offered her a faux expression of jealousy and defeat before both burst into laughter. Rays of heat rippled from the black-gray roof as the two considered each other. Jara had to admit that Alyx was a fine free runner, and had been adequate at scaling buildings even before she'd started her assassin training.

"Impressive," Jara remarked, "But your reach is longer only because you are taller."

"I still won," Alyx said sticking out her tongue.

"Fair enough," Jara said, "Your assassin skills are coming along nicely. You've mastered parkour, you're able to blend fairly easily and your steps have become almost as silent as death itself. Only one thing remains."

"What?" Alyx asked, for she thought she'd already learned all she needed to know for initiation.

"You must take the leap of faith," Jara said smiling, "And to do that I must first finish your assassin robes."

"What are we waiting for then, let's get out of the heat," Alyx said opening the door for her friend with a grin.

"You know I let you win," Jara winked.

Julian studied Allison closely as she walked across the grassy field toward him. She turned away then presenting a profile. Julian realized than that, ever-so-subtly, she had begun to show. A smile crossed his lips for a moment only to replaced by a worried expression. Despite his hopes and his love for her he couldn't help but worry. The world was hardly a safe place to raise children and City 12 was proving just as dangerous a place to live as anywhere else in the world. To make matters worse Allison still hadn't recovered fully from the damage the Combine had done to her. Recently she'd been having dreams, visions of her past that still haunted her due to extended time spent in the Animus. Julian put those concerns from his mind and prepared for the hike back to the City.

The air was warm and the flowers were all in bloom. Summer had arrived. They'd spent the day picnicking about half a mile down the road from City 12. Getting back into the City had become easy ever since he'd announced himself as a candidate. The assassin checked his watch remembering suddenly that Shephard was likely waiting for him. Shephard had become his sort of campaign manager and was responsible for scheduling speeches and debates. His time as a carefree lover was over, it was time to get back to work.

The two of them neared their home on the outskirts of town. The assassin soon noticed that something wasn't quite right as they made their approach. Voices in the distance alerted him and caused him to quiet his own footsteps and listen beyond the Summer breeze and his loudly beating heart. They were faint but were clearly coming from up ahead. Julian grabbed Allison by the hand and took cover behind a broken down building peering out around the side of the house for just long enough to get a look at them.

Three figures, too slim to be ordinary thugs, stood near his doorway. Julian once again quieted himself and took a deep breath focusing on their ever-so-faint conversation. By the sound of it they were planning an ambush. They would wait for the assassin to return home and then leap out. Julian took another quick peek recognizing their armor, the same sort worn by the synthetic assassins who had assisted Theron.

"What is it?" Allison whispered.

"Enemies, Combine assassins" Julian answered wondering for a moment if Theron might have survived, "Probably not alone either. I want you to go get help, go find Shephard and Alyx."

"What are you going to do?" Allison asked.

"I'm going to stop them," Julian responded, "I can't let them have the Pieces of Eden."

"I'm pretty good in a fight," Allison protested softly. Julian's response was a kiss and a pat on the stomach reminding her that it wasn't merely her own life that would be at stake if she fought. With a reluctant sigh Allison made a break for it making sure to move quickly, quietly and stealthily.

Julian cursed himself for once again he was without his armor. He hadn't, however, dared going beyond the City walls with at least some weaponry. The assassin reached into the picnic basket and produced both of his gauntlets each with their own retractable blade. He fastened them quickly and began silently moving toward the back of his house hoping to get in unnoticed.

The assassin reached the back of the house and slipped in the back door but not without alerting the three Synth-Assassins who immediately began moving. The assassin came to a halt and suddenly the activity of the Combine assassins too ceased. Scratching his head for but a moment the assassin inched forward at a snails pace grabbing several throwing knives from the table. The Synthetic killers cried out again and once again Julian froze in his tracks.

"Motion sensor," Julian mouthed silently to himself, "great."

The real target he was seeking was his HEV suit. The synthetic assassins were likely to be well armed but the bright orange material of the HEV suit was practically indestructible. Using every ounce of discipline he possessed Julian took off his clothing without budging more than an inch. He could see the black and orange of the suit just a dozen or so steps from where he stood. The skilled young assassin took a deep breath to center himself once more before making a break for the suit. With every fiber of his being intent on getting into that suit the assassin rushed forward grabbing the HEV suit and donning it faster than a fireman trying to save a burning building.

It'd worked but the Synths were already on the move now fully aware that what was tripping their sensors was no anomaly or error. They burst through the doors in time to catch just a glimpse of the assassin as he leapt out the back door and crawled onto the roof. Julian knew they were just behind him as he jumped from his roof to the ground below coming up in a spin to meet one of the Synth assassins head on. Julian sliced forward with his gauntlet blades narrowly missing the agile Synth as he dodged and weaved while trying to aim his rather peculiar weapon in Julian's direction.

"He's here!" The other two Synth-assassins cried joining the one marked Alpha.

Julian turned to attack them as well but found himself dodging out of the way as they fired their guns. A strange indigo beam of energy reached out from the barrel of all three weapons. Julian made sure they missed of course and watched as the beams hit the ground. Rather than tearing up grass or dirt the weapons seemed to merely make a small patch of soil and grass vanish into thin air as if erased from existence entirely. Julian had little time to contemplate the consequences if one of the beams hit him as they began firing even more rapidly. He tried to get their fire to overlap so that they would kill each other but they were too smart for that.

Julian decided his best bet was to bumrush one of them. He ran headlong for Alpha but despite hitting the Synth full force below center of gravity the Combine assassin didn't budge an inch. Julian continued to try to get leverage with his boots on the muddy ground but failed. The Synth struck him hard with the butt of his gun nearly knocking Julian to the ground. The young assassin stumbled back throwing out two throwing knives in rapid succession to keep the Synth's behind him busy.

Julian rushed Alpha again this time knocking aside his weapon. He managed to catch his blades in the sight mount of the gun and pull it away from the evil Synth. With speed he'd never seen before in all his years the Synthetic menace drew a sword. Now it was Julian's turn to go on the defensive, dodging the razor sharp sword of the Synth while paying equal attention to the sporadic blasts of the other two enemies.

Despite his remarkable speed the Synthetic assassin was not as skilled as Julian had originally feared. After several attack routines meant only to measure the skill of his opponent Julian launched into a sweeping motion meaning to go low with his blades. As the Synth's sword went low to block both of Julian's gauntlet blades went up toward the Synth's chest. The Synth was fast, too fast, and stopped Julian's first blade. But Julian's second blade, originally moving in synch with the first, had dipped low unexpectedly and was now buried deep in the Synth assassins stomach. Julian stood up stabbing the blade deeper and dodging a swipe of the impaled Synth's sword. Julian retracted his claw using the mechanism and danced back dodging oncoming fire of the other two Synths before finishing Alpha with several precisely placed slices that left Synthetic entrails spilled across the ground.

Julian turned toward the other two with a smirk trying to feel confident. He strode in only to be stopped in his tracks when one of the indigo beams struck him. It was an odd sensation, as though the very chemical make-up of his upper-thigh was being torn asunder. It was a stinging aching sensation that resonated across his entire body. He was down on one knee then examining the hole to see that only a fraction of the beam's potential had penetrated the suit and that a small spherical indentation had appeared on his leg. The assassin was about to stand up when orange and gold ethereal flames gripped his body. The psychic fires lifted him from the ground and turned him around to see a horribly inhuman creature standing before him. With sickly pitch-black skin that seemed like the shell of insect the creature opened its mangled mouth to speak.

"An excellent warrior indeed," the otherworldly creature crooned, "But no match for the depth gun... or the wisdom of the gods."

Shephard checked his watch. He paced back and forth wondering where on Earth his friend might be before once again checking the watch he wore on his wrist. One informant didn't seem enough and the grizzled General turned to the clock on the wall watching the second hand tick past and growing more and more impatient with every moment. He'd told Julian that the speech was at six PM, already it was five thirty and they had a good walk to get to their destination.

"Relax Shephard," Jara said with a needle in her mouth, "He'll be here."

"Perhaps you'd like something to drink General?" Alyx asked peeking her head into the room.

"No peeking!" Jara laughed, "It isn't ready yet!"

"Sorry," Alyx said, "I'm just so excited. I mean it's not everyday you become part of ancient order of assassins."

"Julian's in trouble! You have to help!" Allison shouted arriving at the door and banging as hard as her fists could. Alyx opened the door for her allowing the woman, out of breath and with eyes wide in distress, to enter, "Combine Assassins, Synths likely, three of them setting an ambush!"

"Where?" Jara asked grabbing her blades and other equipment.

"Our house," Allison said accepting a glass of water from Alyx, "He didn't want them to get the Pieces of Eden, he stayed behind!"

"We'll go," Hassan Aldi said, "You stay here with Shephard."

"Oh no," Shephard said grabbing a shotgun, "I'm not getting left behind here. I can parkour as well as the next one of you."

"I will remain behind then," Hassan agreed.

"I'm going," Allison said grabbing her own HEV suit, a specialized black model designed and built by the first friend she'd ever found, Michael Cameron.

"The baby," Shephard mentioned.

"It's my decision," Allison said suiting up, "Now let's go."

"Look's like your robes will have to wait," Jara said to Alyx, "But you can have this now."

Jara handed Alyx a mechanism that she had become familiar with these past weeks, an assassins hidden blade. Alyx put it on and grabbed her gun for good measure. The group rushed out as quickly and as well-equipped as they could.

Julian felt as if his organs were being crushed. The HEV suit provided little if any protection from the psychic forces at work when the grotesque alien creature used the Apple. He attempted to twist his body as the malevolent insectoid lifted him higher into the air. He felt a rush of wind as he smashed into the muddy ground. Again he was being lifted and again the power of the Apple drove him down, this time headfirst. Dizzy and barely conscious the assassin tried to concentrate well enough to break free of the pull of the Apple. He'd done it once before when in a conflict with Emil Nemico but now, with his mind growing dark and his body wracked with pain, he didn't think he would be able to overcome it.

"Your species is particularly weak," Ressian said, "It was our kind who taught the first Assassins how to kill, how to use the shadows. How wrong we were to support your rebellion. So weak."

"I've heard it all before lady," Julian managed to squeak as the hideous Combine Assassin lifted him right side up again, "It really isn't fair for someone holding a Piece of Eden to accuse someone else of being weak. What else is using magic but a sign of weakness? Because you have no true skill! No real talent at killing!"

"Killing with blade and energy weapon grows tiresome," Ressian replied in defense, "I think I might keep this little orb as a trophy, along with your head!"

Julian felt his head twisting and turning. He fought as best he could concentrating with every bit of willpower he had within him. With calm deliberate breaths and powerful thoughts he tried to keep his head from obeying the assassin's call. He thought that insulting her might not have been the wisest decision he'd ever made. Suddenly something drew the attention of his attacker. Some voices in the distance had momentarily postponed his demise. The assassin took this time to become more focus, to draw within himself in hopes that he would be able to shatter the Apple's control. His attempts to heighten his focus fell flat when Emil Nemico, escorted by several Templar thugs and accompanied by Vera Novosa, approached the Combine assassin. Julian was about to cry out to tell them to run away but the truth of what was happening soon became clear.

"I'm glad you came," Ressian growled, "I want you to witness the death of this assassin and know that he is merely mortal."

"Get on with it Ressian," Emil demanded, "Kill the bastard."

Allison looked on as they approached the house. The others turned to regard her. She could hear their voices asking why she had paused, why she was stopped cold. Allison Rogue could hear them but she could not answer as her mind sank deeper. This all seemed so familiar. A splitting pain shocked through her skull then forcing her to her knees. Images flashed before her mind that made no sense. The tangled vines around ancient stones. The cold steel of swords forged specially for the Maldragon, assassins... but not human assassins.

Jara and Shephard dove in first with the General leading the charge unloading several shells from his Spas-12. The first few were more like warning shots that sent Emil Nemico and Vera Novosa diving into cover. Their henchmen pulled out weapons of their own and Shephard saw his opportunity pumping out the remainder of shells in their direction and getting to cover before they could begin firing. He'd wasted eight shotgun shells and only managed to wound one of the Templars. Jara, despite employing only her crooked kris, was much more effective as she rolled into the midst of the Synth assassins stabbing the first through the throat before either were alert enough to mount a defense. The second had his sword out in a flash but Jara was already rolling away, like a sprinting specter she appeared near the Templar henchmen slicing and stabbing with such speed and than retreating back to the Synth assassin.

"Go!" Vera shouted to Emil who quickly ran for it back into the city.

Alyx was next unloading rounds from her weapon in the direction of the grotesque alien holding the glowing sphere. Alyx had never seen one of the fabled Pieces of Eden but she knew enough about them to recognize the Apple when she saw it. She fired her gun attempting to knock the device from Ressian's hand. Sparks of orange lightning arced from the device but it remained firmly in the hands of the enemy who turned its insect-like gaze upon her. Alyx dove for cover as the Templars began to open fire.

Shephard was on them, he'd flanked around the houses as the Templars had pressed forward toward where he'd been taking cover before. He was behind them now rushing forward with the quiet steps of an assassin and unloading shells into their ranks. As he once again emptied his weapon of ammunition he had to quickly dodge behind a nearby house to avoid the insistent rapid fire of the enemy MP7s. There were still almost a dozen Templars each in hot pursuit of him. He lead them away hoping the others would appreciate a few less enemies in the area.

Alyx put a new magazine in her gun and shot the Apple once more. This time the effect was more noticeable, the flames around Julian weakened. The assassin struggled in the air clearly trying to free himself from the grip of the device.

Jara was surprised that the Combine could design a Synth so quick and so skilled. She was having trouble getting any real offensive strikes to succeed against her enemy. Their swordfight had continued on uncomfortably long for the young female assassin but the others seemed otherwise occupied. She dodged the quick jabs of the Synth with deft serpent-like movements of her body retaliating with a several slicing strikes followed by a quick jab low, then two high and a third toward the middle. The Synthetic assassin stayed out of reach clearly trying to tire the young warrior out. Jara was onto this ruse and, without lowering her defenses, took out a small orb from a pouch and tossed it on the ground. A bright flash filled the room and Jara struck out blindly hearing a satisfying crunch as her sword cut into the Synth assassin. Jara retracted the kris and stabbed several more times as the smoke cleared revealing the brutalized barely breathing body of the Synth-assassin. The stumbling Synth still tried futilely to complete an attack pattern but Jara mercifully sliced its throat causing it to bleed out quickly. With a self-satisfied smirk she turned back to help the others.

"Allison?" Julian asked seeing his beloved ambling toward him as if in a trance, "Stay back!"

"Not one step closer!" Ressian demanded, "You're Alyx Vance, they want you alive and I would prefer to give you to them in that condition but if you take another step both you and Julian will be delivered to the Combine as corpses! Now, I suggest you surrender."

"Fuck that," Julian said suddenly falling free of the orange flames.

Julian rushed at Ressian with his twin blades flailing. Out came the alien assassin's sword and just as Allison had enigmatically suggested it resembled the sword he'd received from Cheng the inventor. It was a dark blue steel, almost black, and it made a peculiar twang as it recoiled off his own blade. Julian launched into the attack as Alyx dove for the creatures exposed back. Alyx launched into a leap and drove her hidden blade hard for the alien's neck. The blade seemed to glance off and after several fervent stabs it still refuse to stick the demonic insect. Alyx was bucked off Ressian's back and hit the ground hard.

Julian narrowly avoided a sweep of the blade as Jara now joined the fight. Even with the two of them trading swipes and slices, parries and blocks they didn't appear to gain any ground against the creature.

"You may be able to resist this," Ressian said spinning elegantly to keep Julian and Jara at bay while gripping the Apple in the other hand, "But she can't!"

Julian watched Jara fly from where she was standing. Horrorible fear filled ever crevice of his mind as the body of one of his closest friends was tossed like little more than a rag doll and crashed headlong through the window of his house. Jara moaned audibly from within. Julian was glad that she was still alive but the act had nonetheless stirred more than a little fury within him. As he swung into overdrive Alyx returned this time firing off her gun point blank into the creature's back. Ressian swung around knocking back Alyx with her three fingered fist still coiled around the Apple. Alyx was on her feet again in seconds this time trying to stab the horrible monstrosity's legs.

"The whole temple is full of em!" Allison shouted, "They aren't VIETCONG! FUCK! They're everywhere! Maldragon! The wing plates... vestigial... stab them in the fucking back!"

Ressian turned her evil eyes on Allison and with one hand defending against Julian she extended the other and lifted Allison with the Piece of Eden. Her secret had already been betrayed and Alyx was behind her driving the hidden blade deep between the dividing plates in her exoskeleton. Down into her wings, her back, slicing and tearing. Ressian screamed as Jara and Julian rushed her too. Jara felt the orange fires grab her, she felt her body being lifted, then she felt the flash of cool steel against her belly and watched with pain boiling in her eyes as Ressian collapsed to her knees in agony.

"Jesus Christ she's been cut," Julian said cradling Jara.

Ressian had never felt pain so intense, she fell to the grass and watched the Apple roll from her hands. Humans so pathetic... how had they beaten her? How had that woman known the only flaw in her armor? They were running away from her now, escaping with the Apple. She tried to lift herself up but the fatigue, the pain, it was too much. As though descending back into hyper sleep Ressian Malil faded from the waking world.

Julian kept pressure on the wound guiding their every movement through the crisscrossing city streets. They couldn't risk moving her very far but they needed to find a safe enough place off the beaten path. With powerful enemies possibly just behind them they ran holding Jara as still as they could while moving swiftly. She was still conscious and mumbling incoherently, her beautiful eyes glaring sadly up at them as she struggled to stay awake.

At last they reached their destination. Julian burst in first finding Cheng sitting at his work bench and more than a little surprised to see the assassin. Julian explained frantically as he helped Alyx and Allison carry Jara into man's home and lay her down.

The first order of business was to stem the flow of blood which had already stained Jara's assassin robes a deep crimson color. Alyx had Cheng, who knew a bit about chemistry, prepare an anesthetic and asked if he had needle and thread.

"She needs a doctor," Alyx said, "A real doctor. We can't risk moving her and we don't have what we need to fix this."

"Go," Julian told her, "Get back here as quick as you can, we'll do what we can in the meantime."

"Am I gonna make it?" Jara asked coughing up blood.

"So much for our alien assassin," Emil remarked arriving at the scene of the battle with thirty of his own men as an escort. He looked at Ressian still lying on the ground and spat.

"They've run," Vera explained, "One of them was badly wounded. Go into the city with your men. We can still get Julian and Alyx, we can still get both targets."

"We already have the Pieces of Eden," Emil remarked.

"Go!" Vera commanded and Emil obeyed.

Vera regained her composure and kept looking around wondering if General Shephard would return after he'd dispatched with Emil's men. She was no novice to battle but had no desire of going toe to toe with Adrian Shephard. She sighed deeply. Things hadn't gone at all the way they'd been planned. Julian Miles was still alive, after all, and so long as the assassin breathed it would be impossible for the Templars to make good on their end of the arrangement. Vera looked to the injured Ressian Malil. Even a skilled warrior from another world hadn't been able to do the job though in a one on one fight Vera was quite confident Ressian could have wiped the floor with any human fighter.

"Pity," Vera remarked with a shrug.

"I assure you that I need none," Ressian replied lifting herself from the ground.

"Alive," Vera said with a look of utter surprise, "I thought you wer-."

"Weak," Ressian finished, "My kind heal far faster than your disgusting species. I am, as you would say, down but not out."

Alyx could feel sinister eyes upon her as she neared the doctors office. She wasn't sure from what dark perches they were watching but she knew that they were there. She'd spent years hiding from the predatory Combine Empire, taking apart her share of Overwacth and Elites alike, not to mention aliens and zombies. She'd never seen anything like Ressian, the creature defied definition, even defied description. The blade it had used to cut Jara had been diabolically sharp. Alyx pressed on knowing that every minute was crucial. She could see the clinic just ahead as she leapt across one rooftop to another and into a side-alley to save time.

Like a flash of lightning they were on her. Thugs, or rather bounty hunters, likely former Resistance soldiers. She was surrounded but if there was one thing she'd learned it was that an assassin was never surrounded. She reached for her gun but they reached for their own and soon enough she was at gun point.

"I've got no time to play boys," Alyx remarked grabbing a small orb from her pocket, "Well, maybe one trick."

She tossed the sphere and it erupted into a bright flash filling the alley with smoke. She rushed up the wall and onto the roof barely able to see but easily able to feel with her feet. She leapt from the roof landing in a roll and darting down the correct street before barreling into the clinic hoping that she'd put enough distance between herself and her pursuers.

"I don't think I'm gonna make it," Jara remarked quietly, "I can't feel the pain anymore. I can't feel anything."

"I can't just watch her die," Allison said turning for the door. Julian grabbed her hand and pulled her into an embrace.

"We take the risk," Jara whispered, "We're assassins. Laa shay'a waqui'n moutlaq bale kouloun moumkine. We work in the dark, to serve the light."

"I'm here," Alyx shouted entering the shop with the doctor in tow, "I've brought the Doc."

"I'm just a medic," the man clarified setting down his bag and blanching white when he looked at Jara.

Several painfully eternal minutes passed as the Doctor examined Jara and ran through his options with her. He turned to the others and shook his head solemnly.

"It's too late for her," he explained, "She won't make it. I'm sorry. Even if I'd been there when it happened there's no guarantees I could've done anything... still, I'm sorry."

"I wanted to see you become a full fledged assassin," Jara whispered to Alyx grasping her kris, "Here, I want you to have this. Remember the creed."

"We work in the dark to serve the light," Alyx said.

"Nothing is true," Jara started, her voice weak and her eyes slowly shutting as she passed from life.

"Everything is permitted," Allison finished with eyes now wet with tears.

"Safety and peace my friend," Julian said bowing his head.

"What do we do now?" Emil asked as much to himself as to Vera, the woman, normally so composed and confident, merely shrugged.

"Julian is still alive," Vera said stating the obvious, "And our benefactors will not at all be pleased. I suggest for your sake that you leave the city."

"The election is today," Emil protested, "Why would the future Mayor of City 12 abandon his post now? Merely because one assassin continues to live."

"Assassins thrive on killing the corrupt when they are in power," Vera mentioned.

"There's something more than that," Emil proposed and Vera's eyes betrayed the truth, "These benefactors of ours... they aren't human are they?" Again Vera's eyes did the talking.

"Something is going to happen to the city," Vera said.

"What of Ressian Malil?" Emil asked ignoring Vera's vague comment, "Can it... she... not salvage this?"

"I don't know," Vera admitted, "But time is running out. I must go."

Emil felt cold as she walked away. Only weeks ago everything had made sense and everything had been going exactly as planned. Now even Vera seemed to be drained of all confidence. He wasn't sure of her cryptic threat about something happening to the city but he was beginning to suspect that the Combine were the benefactors of which she spoke. The memory of the man in the blue suit drifted through his mind and he turned instinctively to the chest which contained the Pieces of Eden. He'd thought that Vera would have taken it with her, the woman had suggested the possibility of presenting it to their benefactors, a fitting replacement for the life of Julian Miles. Was Vera leaving the city entirely?

Emil Nemico stepped onto his balcony and watched City 12 come to life. The polls would open in just a few hours and by nightfall they would know who was the new Mayor of City 12. A city where something was about to happen.


	11. Chapter 11: Vague Voices

Chapter Eleven: Vague Voices

Julian sat on the edge of the rooftop and watched the storm clouds as they crested over the horizon meandering their way across the sky towards the city. A crack of distant thunder and a wicked breezed brushed past him ruffling his assassin cloak. He rarely wore the old assassin robes and armor but tonight it seemed somehow fitting. He'd only just returned from giving a speech, a concession speech offering Emil Nemico his blessing as newly elected Mayor of City 12. The Templar's had won, the Assassins had lost.

Julian had thought the old robes would offer him some comfort, some link to his heritage and his past. But rather than fluff his ego they merely made him more melancholy. How long had this feud between their orders boiled? Centuries? Millennia? How many generations of Assassins and Templars had fought and died for what they thought were honorable causes? Was it all truly a lie? The entire thing seemed an exercise in futility to the young assassin who had spent his entire life fighting.

In many ways their struggle against the Combine seemed equally hopeless to him then. It would likely last for decades and long after he was dead and buried human children would still be cowering in fear of the Combine. Children. The idea brought hope and fear simultaneously into the young man's mind. There was more to fight for now than mere survival. More than the selfishness of individual freedom for every adult. There was the freedom of children to worry about, as well as their lives.

Julian felt the first drops of rain hit his hood and roll down to drip from his cowl. He wondered if he should leave the city behind him. There was no doubt that City 12 was far from safe, their encounter with the alien killer Ressian Malil had proved that. Jara Aldi, one of Julian's closest friends and allies, was now dead. They'd buried her the day before in a cemetery just beyond the city gates. Julian's concerns about City 12, about the assassin order and about himself and Allison swirled within his mind. Desmond had always told him to keep the right priorities but right now he wasn't sure which priorities were right and which were wrong.

Would the City be safe in the hands of Emil Nemico? Would the children be safe? Would it be dishonoring the Assassin Order if they fled the city? Would the rest of the Assassins follow him out? Hassan Aldi was still in control of the Order although the man had become even more reclusive than Julian these past three days since the passing of his daughter.

Julian took a deep breath to center himself. He felt something then, something profound. It was as if within him was a seed, a link to the past. He shut his eyes and let the wind and rain roll over him as the storm hit with full force. His skin was flushed with sensations but he pushed it all away and was lost, drown in a place deep within. He wasn't sure how, whether it was some residual effect from those sessions he'd had in the Animus years ago or something innate to himself, but he wasn't alone on the rooftop anymore.

"I cannot stay long," Desmond said, "Our connection is weak."

"I never thought I'd miss you old man," Julian admitted with a grin, "But I do... and I need your help now. I need to know what to do."

"You must do what you feel is right."

"Right for myself or right for the world?"

"This war has been going on longer than you can imagine," Desmond said as if answering a different question, one burning in Julian's mind, "Do not think you can win it yourself or that every life is yours to save son. Do what you can to protect them but there is nothing that you MUST do. Your path is yours."

"Nothing is true," Julian nodded as the image of his Father faded, "Everything is permitted."

Lightning streaked across the sky as the assassin streaked across the rooftops. With fire in his footsteps he ran toward his home. They'd moved to the other side of the city closer to the citizens hoping they would be shielded now that the world knew they were alive. They were still living on the outskirts. How Julian longed to see Allison's burning blue eyes as another indigo bolt of lightning smeared across the ominous nighttime sky. He would take her, he decided, and any who wanted to go with him, he would leave City 12.

He could see the small house as he rolled down to ground level. Something caught his attention then, a streak of lightning illuminated something in the sky. An object that was hurtling toward them. A resounding thud that sounded more like an impact than thunder came a few moments later followed by another and another. Yet another flash of lightning came revealing a sky polluted with these objects. Julian rushed for his house as one of the shells crashed through the roof throwing debris in every direction.

The young assassin nearly stopped cold in his tracks by the devastating blow but he didn't. He ran for the door of the barely standing structure and threw it open shouting for Allison as he rummaged through the debris and batted aside a headcrab emerging from the capsule. He found her soon after reaching her hand from under a small pile of planks. Julian pulled her out as gently as he could inspecting her from head to toe as they exited into the night. She seemed fine, with only a few nicks and bruises most of which she got on the climb out over broken glass and splintered wood.

They were running into the inner city, running from the shells. Most of them, Julian noted, were landing outside the city wall or in low population areas. Still it wasn't a good prospect, when the Combine launched a shell attack of this magnitude it was often a precursor to a larger attack. With that in mind Julian rushed into the city with Allison close behind. For a fleeting few seconds Julian thought they might leave now and escape the city before the zombies had infested the outskirts but then they ran past house after house and heard the cries of babies and small children. Suddenly everything was as unclear to him as it had been earlier and his moral compass felt lost in the storm of possible decisions.

Emil Nemico felt as if he was waking from a dream into a nightmare. He was only one day away from being made Mayor of City 12, he'd already won the election by an incredible margin. Everything seemed as if it was finding a balance and as he'd drifted off to sleep he felt that everything in the world was right. But the next day had shattered his calm once more with the news that City 12 had been shelled. Zombies were already reported within the city walls and soldiers had been called out from every corner of the city to deal with the problem.

The zombies themselves were only issue number one, they were a symptom of a larger problem. Usually a shelling meant that the Combine was going back on the offensive. The Empire of aliens, though insidious in its enslavement of the human race, was slow to deal with them. Emil Nemico thought it might have something to do with the Templars and where their allegiances might lie. But now with zombies crawling through the city wreaking havoc he wasn't so sure.

He chewed his fingernails nervously with Pyotr, his body guard, looking on. The man had never seen his boss quite this broken up about anything. Indeed Emil Nemico felt very apprehensive and at that moment he wasn't sure he cared who knew it. He thought back to his last conversation with Vera, the night of the failed assassination of Julian Miles. He had only seen the woman once since then but they hadn't spoken. Now he feared she might be out of the city altogether. Had she foreseen this new development? Was the shelling an act of vengeance for failing to kill Julian?

With puzzling possibilities buzzing around his head Emil Nemico decided he would survey the damage the shelling had done for himself. If he was to be Mayor of the City he would need to show some initiative. Perhaps he could salvage the situation yet.

Julian sat watching his assassin robes dry. The small room would have seemed cramped with just a handful of people but they'd managed to get a nearly a dozen into the small space that had come to serve as a meeting place for assassins since the attack. Alyx and Allison were seated across from Julian with Hassan leaning against the wall behind them. On Julian's right General Shephard paced to and fro often having to squeeze between some of the other assassins because of the tight space.

"We can't just leave the city," Shephard argued, "City 12 has been our home for years now, ever since the fall of Clear Water."

"The city is no longer safe for us," Julian explained, "With Emil as Mayor and the Templars in charge it won't be long before the rest of us are hunted and down and killed. There are too few assassins left in this world."

"But where would we go?" Allison asked, "The nearest base is Orion but we'd have to pass through far too much Combine territory to get there."

"We could go to City 19," Alyx suggested, "Things have improved a lot there since we took out the Administrator... or I should say since Gordon too him out. Doctor Kleiner would be glad for the company."

"If only the Freeman were here," a vortigaunt standing not far from Hassan said, "I saw him fight once below ground against a horde of antlions that would have shaken the vortessence right from my bones."

"We don't want to run too far," Julian said offering Alyx a smile, "Thanks for the offer though."

"Wait a second," Alyx said her face suddenly brightening, "Theta Prime."

"Hunters Fall," Allison nodded.

"We brought trouble to their door once before though," Julian reminded.

"So we ask nicely this time," Alyx replied standing up as if all was settled.

"We can't just abandon the people here," Shephard argued in a tone so serious that Alyx sat down immediately locking gazes with the stone cold eyes of Adrian Shephard, "This city is humanity's last best hope."

"There's no guarantee that City 12 will even be attacked," Hassan argued back taking the words right from Julian's mouth, "And if it is there is no guarantee it will fall. If we stay and fight we may merely end up dying with the city."

"Shephard has a point though," Julian said, "We shouldn't abandon them. We'll take what we can with us. Then we get out."

"Won't the Templars notice a whole bunch of their citizens walking out on them?" Shephard asked his stern expression lifting momentarily.

"We'll need to capitalize on the chaos caused by the shelling," Julian admitted, "With the soldiers preoccupied with zombies we should be able to get some families out of here and on the road to Hunter's Fall."

"What of the Combine's alien assassin?" Hassan asked suddenly changing the direction of the discussion, "She was wounded but not killed, she will be looking for revenge, just like that other bounty hunter was."

"We know her weakness now," Julian answered, "And we can deal with her when the time comes. Though I'm still not sure how that piece of knowledge came into our possession."

"Your guess is as good as mine," Allison offered with an innocent smile but Julian shook his head with a smirk and she nodded, "It was another vision, a flashback."

"To an ancestors life?" Julian asked though he knew the answer before she nodded.

"I knew once I saw the distinctive type of sword," she replied, "The steel is a special alloy that cannot be made on Earth. One of my ancestors has encountered this race of assassins before. They are known as the Maldragons. I'm not the only one that had something strange happen in that fight, you were able to break free of the Apple's pull!"

"I'm not sure how," Julian admitted, "But I've done it twice now."

"The Pieces were designed to keep humans docile, a slave race," Hassan explained, "I did not think breaking their pull was possible for an ordinary man."

"Perhaps the Julian Miles is no ordinary man," the vortigaunt interjected again.

"Get word to Theta Prime," Julian suggested to Alyx who, he noted, blushed red at the mention of the woman's name, "Let her know we won't be alone."

"Where are you going?" Allison asked.

"To follow in the footsteps of my Father, Desmond 'Moses' Miles," he replied, "I'm gonna go ask the Pharaoh to set my people free."

Julian picked past the man's guards with relative ease slipping in and out of the deepening shadows as the day came to a close. It was clear that Emil Nemico had priorities of his own and his own safety didn't seem near the top of that list. Julian wasn't sure whether to chalk it up to arrogance or a change of heart. The man seemed intent on cleaning up the mess the Combine's shelling had made and even now as night was falling the future Mayor was helping his team clean up debris. Nearly two dozen zombie corpses littered the area nearby their stench almost unbearable wafting through the warm air of early Summer.

The young assassin was close now, dangerously close. Something struck him then as a warm breeze hit him. How was he this close to Emil Nemico this easily? He began darting his sharp eyes in all directions searching for some sign that it was a trap but he found no evidence of one. No synths seemed lying in wait and all of the men who were with Nemico, though most of them were Templars, were not the sort usually employed in the art of combat. Though it felt at odds with everything he'd learned growing up Julian Miles stepped out into the open and addressed Emil Nemico openly.

"Need any help?" Julian asked alerting all to his presence, he tensed imperceptibly as all eyes turned to him ready if he needed to defend himself.

"Assassin," he heard one man mumble under his breath angrily.

"Not from the likes of you!" One man, a short man with broad shoulders and a bald head shouted approaching menacingly but Emil waved the man away.

"If you've come for revenge I have no desire to fight you," Emil said throwing Julian off-guard for a moment at that declaration, "I'm not the one who hired that damned bug."

"But you're in league with the people who did," Julian reminded without a hint of anger in his voice, "A friend of mine died because of you. Not to mention a little rumor going around about who it was who killed my Father. Tell me Emil, was it worth it?"

"I'm not sure yet," Emil said again his response surprised Julian, "I thought I would feel powerful but I don't. I feel... trapped. Trapped in my responsibility to the city and the citizens. So if you're not going to kill me why have you come?"

"Information," Julian said as Emil waved away the others causing them to scatter out of ear-shot, "I want to know where the Pieces of Eden are, the ones that were stolen from my home."

"Gone," Emil said flatly, "Likely in possession of the Combine already."

"How?" Julian asked without betraying his fear and anger at that revelation.

"Ressian Malil," Emil said spitting every word as if it was venom on his lips, "She wasn't loyal to the Templars. She took them with her I imagine, to offer an apology to her overlords for failing at killing you."

"I thought you ordered the hit," Julian said but Emil was shaking his head with every word.

"I was tasked with getting you killed," Emil clarified, "When I failed they went to the Combine, they went to Ressian Malil. The Combine wants you dead even more than we did."

"Did?" Julian asked again surprised though his face betrayed none of it.

"Fucking cowards," Emil said under his breath, "Most of the Templar leadership have run. They're hiding somewhere because of some deal they've made."

"With the Combine?" Julian asked and Emil's expression confirmed that his guess was likely correct.

"I wouldn't let your guard down though," Emil suggested and this time Julian's expression did reveal his surprise, "The leaders may be gone but the hit is still active and the rewards will be great for whoever brings you down. What will you do?"

"I'm leaving," Julian admitted and this time it was Emil who was surprised, "And I'm taking my people with me, as many as I can. Enjoy your power while it lasts Nemico, I hope it was worth all the damage you've done."

And with that the assassin was gone. Emil thought to sick some loyal Templar bounty hunters after him. Perhaps there was still a chance to regain his honor in the Order, keep his position as Mayor and collect even more booty in the process. Or perhaps he would hunt down the assassin himself and kill him. He didn't do it though instead he turned to the desecrated homes around him bathed in the glow of the setting sun with the distant sound of zombies growls and gunfire telling him there was still much work to be done. Templar or not he was Mayor now and as far as he was concerned Julian's fate was now up to Ressian Malil and the Combine Empire.

Allison felt dark eyes on her as she reached the site. She wasn't sure whether it was the zombies that now ambled through the area just beyond and just inside the city walls or something else entirely. The eerie feeling subsided for a moment as she looked upon the sullen stone glinting in the moonlight. Carved into the surface was the name of long fallen friend, Michael Cameron. Only a few feet away sat another stone, this one newer with the carving fresh and the soil still disturbed. Jara Aldi.

Allison knew it was dangerous being out after dark especially only a day after the shells had fallen but she felt he had to see them. They were leaving the city behind after all just as they had left old friends behind. Or was it the other way around? She wondered if it was Jara and Michael who had left her behind to visit some unknown world beyond this one. The idea of an afterlife seemed a bit silly to her though she knew the comfort that it could bring. How badly she wanted them back from beyond the soil that bound them.

She rose from her feet brushing the mud from her black HEV suit's knees. She stood in the moonlight bidding them a silent farewell. A flash caught her attention. Figures ahead of her moved in the treeline. At first she thought it was a flashback, she thought she might be seeing Vietcong through the jungle but soon the truth of it became clear. Combine soldiers, dozens of them, possibly scouts judging by the uncommon green and brown uniforms. She froze in place when she saw they had a Hunter synth with them.

Allison turned and ran keeping her steps as quiet as she could. The ground was muddy, her boots sunk deep making each step away from them that much harder and that much louder. They had already been fairly far away from her but that was no excuse to be sloppy in her escape. Her frantic heart pounded as she cut through the trees and neared the gate. A wayward root reached up as her foot came across. Down she toppled into the mud.

Another flash crossed her eyes but this she knew was not the shine of a Combine's light. This was one all too familiar to her of late. She was back in the jungle again, in the Temple. The Maldragon had been defeated it seemed, or at least pushed back, and her team had taken the temple at the G-Man's behest. She could see the illumination, the glow around the mouth of the temple as she approached. The surface seemed of polished blue steel with glowing white line creasing the floor and walls in cryptic patterns. Images appeared along those walls that told a story long forgotten, long forbidden, one that had haunted man's dreams. One that dwelled within the fabric of all mankind, woven into our genes in the form of ancestral memories.

Allison awoke with a start, a familiar voice urging her to snap from her trancelike state.

"Rise and shine," the voice hissed softly, "We can't have you and that baby of yours falling into the hands of the Combine. You're far too important for that."

Julian knew Allison would likely be infuriated by his absence but he hadn't wanted to waste time. He'd spent nearly the entire night visiting the homes of nearly every citizen he knew was friendly to the assassin order. Due to the efforts of the Templars that number was drastically low compared to the size of the city and the number of citizens. Many had refused to leave their homes. City 12 had stood for years as a bastion. It had been taken from the Combine by forced, a city reclaimed for mankind and it undoubtedly had the largest population and was the most fortified Resistance base that existed in the entire world. It's reputation had only grown after the fall of Golgotha allowed families to begin breeding again for the first time in more than twenty years.

To suggest that City 12 was in any real danger was tantamount to admitting defeat to the Combine as far as many were concerned. Julian watched the sunrise knowing that he'd done his best but still feeling far from satisfied. Only about four dozen people had agreed to accompany them out of the city and very few who had agreed had children. They would be leaving the city of some 80,000 people, at least 5,000 of which were children below the age of two. Once more his moral dilemma reared its ugly head and once more Julian beat it back assuring himself he was making the right choice.

He turned back into the city hoping to make his way back home and to be in bed before the sun was fully up above the horizon.

Allison awoke in her bed startled. Her heart fluttered and she sprung up with arms flailing as if defending herself from attack. Slowly her heart rate slowed as she considered the room around her. She turned to see Julian somehow asleep in the bed beside her snoring soundly. How had she returned to their home? She looked around at the small apartment they were temporarily using since their first house had been attacked by Ressian and their second had been crushed under a headcrab shell. Had it all been a dream? Surely the trip out to the cemetery had been real enough and seeing the Combine soldiers too but after that it all seemed a blur of bright flashes and vague voices.

She walked to the bathroom and washed her face in the mirror looking down at her belly. A smile somehow emerged on her young beautiful face as she washed away the dirt with a cloth. Only a few years earlier she hardly had any grasp on reality at all. Though she was still plagued by strange visions of her ancestor's lives she had indeed come a long way from the broken psyche and shattered personality she had once been. She recalled what it was like to feel like less than a real person. At least now when flashes of the past came to her she always returned to herself. She had a self. And now she was only a few months away from bringing another self into the world. She looked back to Julian and hoped that she could do it safely.

The smile washed from her face like the dirt that she wiped away. The Combine were coming to City 12. It couldn't have been a dream. Yet why would Julian have been slumbering peacefully beside her? Wouldn't he have returned home last night to find her missing only to track her down? Was that what had happened? Had he tracked her down and brought her back and laid her in bed when he saw she was alright? She remembered something than, the nature of the voice still echoing in her head.

"I believe you have something of mine Miss Rogue," she recalled the voice saying, "Stolen from Emil Nemico though it was not his."

Her heart skipped a beat as she rushed into the bedroom and grabbed for the chest Julian kept beneath the bed. She opened it quickly and breathed a sight of relief when she saw the Apple still sitting there. It's golden surface shimmered in the sunlight as it filtered through the window.

"Return it," she heard the voice saying and for a moment she felt compelled to obey as if she'd heard the voice so many times before and always responded to its call. She shut the chest up tight and locked it before pushing it back beneath the bed. Perhaps she hadn't come as far as she had thought from the paralyzed half-person she once was. It seemed that not all the demons in her head were dead, especially ones wearing blue suits.


	12. Chapter 12: Ghosts and Machines

Chapter Twelve: Ghosts and Machines

Allison stood amongst the massively cluttered belongings of Mister Cheng Yin. The man was no doubt a brilliant one as gadgets, gizmos and various other items and inventions were scattered throughout his home but despite his brilliance he was far from organized. She felt a bit awkward as she began going through his things often with no idea of what they were. Cheng had been one of the few citizens of City 12 that had agreed to leave. It'd been a day since she'd seen the soldiers outside the City wall and four more families had since joined their evacuation.

She held up each enigmatic device before the young scientist for his approval or rejection. He could only take with him what was absolutely necessary for survival and that meant only one box of belongings along with a bag or suitcase for clothing.

"That can stay here," Cheng said gesturing toward the invention Allison was holding, a strange device covered in coils and springs, "I know, I'll just bring my blueprints, that way I can remake the inventions."

"You make your own blueprints?" Allison asked picking up and eyeing another invention, this one an ordinary black box with a polished exterior.

"Put that down," Cheng insisted, "Do you want to lose an eye? Yes Miss Rogue I make my own blueprints, although I do have some that my Father passed to me. Some from Abstergo."

"Abstergo," Allison echoed absent-mindedly.

"Ah yes here they are," Cheng said coming out of a closet under the stairs with his arms filled with blueprints many of which fled his grasp as he tried to walk.

Allison rushed to the man's aid picking up as many of the furled blueprints as possible and setting them on the table momentarily. One of the documents caught her eye then. Without even thinking she threw aside the ancient seeming rubber band that kept it closed and unrolled it on the table. It was a more primitive version to be sure, perhaps even a prototype but she couldn't deny what she was looking at. Her eyes narrowed into angry slits that she leveled with devastating effect at Cheng. The poor man looked as if he was about to burst into tears. Allison loosened her visage and let her tightened fists go limp as she considered the document.

"Do you know what this is?" She asked with a hollow tone and Cheng nodded.

"My Father worked on it many years ago," Cheng replied, "They called it an Animus."

"They still call it that," Allison said rolling the blueprint up and eyeing a nearby Bunsen Burner. She flipped the burner on and a cold smile crossed her face as she put the blueprint close to the flame. Something in her stopped her though, whether it was some inner conscience or merely Cheng's distant-seeming insistence that she stop she didn't know. She rolled up the blueprint and tossed it into the box where Cheng was now placing the others. Destroying the blueprint for some archaic prototype wouldn't destroy her past.

"Cheng," She said softly as the man dashed to and fro in a frantic fuss, "About that sword you gave my boyfriend."

"Exquisite wasn't it?" Cheng chirped setting some dusty books into the box beside his blueprints.

"Where did you get it?" Allison asked fighting off the flashbacks.

"My Father gave it to me," Cheng replied, "It was a gift to him, he said, though he never told me who gave it to him. He told me it was very rare and that I should pass it on to someone as well. Since I have no children of my own I thought an assassin could make good use of a such a blade."

Julian dashed behind a nearby wall of a ruined building and listened to the rambling cries of the incoming zombies. He held the blade in his hand already wet with zombie blood. It was the sharpest blade he'd ever wielded and given it's out of this world origins he could understand why. He leapt out from behind cover now taunting the sightless demons with his presence. He dodged aside from a wooden palette struck by one of the slower zombies then dodged back the other way striking out with his sword at the fast zombie that barreled past him. He heard it cry out and hit the ground behind him with a thud. Now it was just him and the slow pokes, a half a dozen or so of the slower common zombie.

Julian calmed himself down and wiped the smile from his face reminding himself that these were human beings and that most of them were former residence of City 12. Still there was no denying that the work-out was doing wonders for his mental state. These were mindless monsters now, he decided, there was nothing left of who they used to be. And besides that if he didn't deal with them their group would never make it out of City 12 before the attack. That's what this little outing was all about after all, surveying the area to make sure they could make a clean getaway.

The zombies pressed in now. One lifted a rock and tossed it his way. Normally the spry assassin would have dodged to the side but instead he used his sword to slice the rock into pebbles. The smirk returned to his face as he rushed in hacking away zombie limbs as they grew in close before impaling one through the headcrab, swiping another's torso in two and then rebounding away just out of reach of the others. Of the four who remained only two had any arms and so Julian skirted past the harmless to cut down those that still remained a threat. He ran right past them and then spun swinging his sword to decapitate both of them and put them out of their misery.

Julian seen quite a few zombies in the two hours he'd spent scouting but he hadn't seen any Combine soldiers. That was precisely the reason he'd chosen this particular path to lead what was left of the City 12 Assassins, and any citizens that would tag along, to Hunter's Fall. Word had already reached Theta Prime. They would leave at the first light of dawn on the next day.

The assassin's ears suddenly perked up at the sound of nearby gunfire. He wondered if perhaps they were too late to flee and if the Combine were already breaching the walls. He sprinted toward the source of the noise scaling the city wall with ease and reaching the other side. He saw the source of the gunfire and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw several Resistance soldiers in conflict with zombies. A pack of fast zombies tore down the street evading the fire of the soldiers. Julian's eyes went wide when he saw the zombies make a turn towards the city proper. He could see that civilians were just a block or two away from the zombies.

The assassin had to act quickly, he leapt from the top of the wall to the closest rooftop the tips of his toes barely catching enough of the roof to keep going. He pressed on without thinking knowing instinctively the path he would take to get him ahead of the zombies. With ease unbelievable he leapt and swung using old broken power lines long dead to swing toward the building across from him and run along the wall before leaping toward another nearby roof. Once again barely making enough contact to maintain his balance he rushed forward with the summer sun beating down as he neared his targets.

The zombies were close to the civilians now but the assassin was closer. He leapt out in front of the fleeing citizens and cut down the first muscled fast zombie to smash itself into him. The next managed to flank him and clawed at his robes but the assassin moved quick enough to keep the zombies claw from even penetrating the cloth let alone his skin. He swept down with his blade clipping the speedy zombies arm as it tried to realign itself and attack. He cut away its fingers as its claws came in before cutting away its head finally. He turned toward the other zombies tackling one aside with amazing speed before it could sink its sharp claws into a helpless old woman. It crashed into an already broken store-window and turned back to face the assassin with shards of glass protruding from its grotesque red flesh. Julian watched as the mindless thing rushed him and he prepared to cut it down only to be bum-rushed from behind by the other zombie.

Julian felt claws biting at his skin. He kicked the first one away and impaled the other with his sword before rising to his feet. Other than a small cut to the forearm, which was mostly his fault for leaving his gauntlet blades at home, the assassin was fine. They lifted a ravenous cry as they rushed in, the assassin leapt up and flipped so that his head was facing the ground in a sort of mid-air cartwheel that also involved a sweep of the alien sword. The assassin landed elegantly, the zombies landed dead.

Julian looked around feeling the eyes of the City upon him. The last thing he wanted was for them to think of him as their champion again. Some cheered, especially the Resistance soldiers who thanked him for his assistance as they finally caught up, but many also spit and hissed. The assassin was glad for it as he sank back into the shadows, it made leaving that much easier.

"Our scouts put the numbers in the tens of thousands, probably in excess of sixty-thousand," one of his advisors said, "Sir even with the superior numbers of the City and our defensive measures we will not prevail."

"The wall turrets still work don't they?" Emil Nemico asked as if the entire battle would be decided by the outer defenses.

"Yes sir," General Cartwright reported, "But they won't be bringing down any Striders and our scouts report dozens of Striders being air-dropped just a few dozen miles West of here."

"We cannot give up," Emil Nemico replied.

"We need to be realistic," another advisor chimed, "Baron Brown would have evacuated the City, he would have-"

"Do I look like Baron Brown to you!" Emil screamed suddenly, "Get out of my office!"

"But sir," the first advisor complained before sheepishly turning for the door.

"You're going to get a lot of women and children killed," General Cartwright said with a grim tone to her voice, "At least send them to the shelters beneath the City."

"Shelters?" Emil Nemico echoed.

"Tunnels built by the Combine originally," Cartwright said, "they were sealed off after the battle of City 12 to be used in emergencies by the Resistance. The assassins built them."

"Very well," Emil Nemico said ignoring the General's tone, "Take what children you can to these tunnels... Now get out."

Emil Nemico heard the door shut as the last advisor and military leader left his office. He didn't like the sound of what was coming to City 12 and he didn't like that the Templars had seen it coming and left the city. Now his reign as Mayor, something he'd worked at for years and wanted more than anything, was likely to come to a spectacular end. All by design so it seemed. All by the deception of people he thought were his allies. He stood up and went to the window filled with utter disgust when he remembered the nights he'd spent beneath the sheets with Vera. She'd been betraying him, they all had, to the Combine. And what did they profit? What did the Templars gain from the arrangement they had?

"Are you enjoying the view Mister Nemico," a familiar voice hissed and though it frightened the Mayor he did not turn.

"What do you want?"

"Only what belongs to my employers," the G-Man hissed, "Only my property."

"The Apple," Emil nodded, "But I don't have it."

"I am aware of your, failures," the G-Man cooed coldly, "But I have come to see you redeemed. There are others interested in Eden Mister Nemico. See to it that my property is taken from the assassin."

"Why can't you get it from him yourself?" Emil asked, "What's the matter god? Rendered impotent by a mere mortal?"

"That one is no mere man," the G-Man replied, "Not like you anyway... Enjoy your last night as Mayor Mister Nemico."

Julian wished that he could say he was surprised but in truth he had suspected such a decision from the beginning. Shephard on the other hand seemed as if he'd anticipated a more animated reaction from the assassin. The middle-aged man seemed utterly disappointed that Julian was not going to question his decision. In fact Julian's expression was one of admiration and approval. Indeed it took a brave man to stand beside a doomed a city in it's hour of crisis.

"You heard what I said right?" Shephard asked thinking the assassin must have misheard him.

"Yeah I heard you," Julian laughed, "You're staying behind to fight for City 12."

"And you're okay with it?" Shephard asked with a surprised expression.

"You're far older than I am," Julian argued and Shephard's expression told him the man didn't understand, "You have to do what you feel is right."

"But you're the head of the assassins," Shephard tried to argue but Julian was shaking his head.

"Hassan," Julian reminded, "Hassan is the leader of the Assassin Order now and besides we bow to no one. Nothing is true-"

"Everything is permitted," Shephard said waving his hand dismissively, "I know the creed I just thought I'd get some opposition."

"You know I respect you," Julian replied with a grin, "and at the same time I don't want to see you get hurt. The captain doesn't always have to go down with the ship."

"General," a new voice said entering the conversation both men turned to see General Amber Cartwright, her hair tied back and eyes brimming like a little lass before Christmas, "What's this I hear about you staying behind Shephard?"

"I couldn't let you and your men have all the fun," Shephard joked.

"My men and I have fun all the time," Amber assured Shephard with a wink, "I suppose we could use help this time though."

"How bad does it look?" Julian dared to ask and Amber's expression turned grim giving him all the answer he really needed.

"If that fuckwit Nemico was smart he'd evacuate the non-military personnel," she lamented, "But at least he's letting us move the children. When are you folks leaving?"

"First thing in the morning," Julian said feeling swept by a sudden wave of guilt.

"Best of luck to you kid," Amber said patting him on the shoulder.

"I better go pack," Julian mentioned trying to stifle his conscience once more and remind himself leaving was their best option.

"Don't worry Julian," Shephard called as the assassin grew farther away, "We'll give those Combine bastards what's coming to them."

The assassin reached the secret rendevous point a few moments later administering the secret knock before he was allowed entry. Inside he found several of the citizens who were planning to accompany them. He stepped into a backroom to see the smiling face of Allison. She could see the pained expression on his face as he embraced her. She kissed him asking him repeatedly what was wrong between a passionate interplay of lips and tongue. He sat down in a heap seeming hardly moved and yet so clearly buried in turmoil.

"Shephard's staying," Julian said with a sigh, "And I'm still not sure we're doing the right thing."

"We are," Allison said putting Julian's hand to her stomach, "Maybe its selfish to say but I'd like for my baby to have a Father. You can't protect everyone, you can't save everyone."

"I know that," Julian replied staring into her brilliant blue eyes, "We'll go."

Emil Nemico approached the house silently with his eyes slipping like serpents from shadow to shadow hoping he wouldn't be seen. He knew Julian's house was somewhere near here, reports from his spies placed it in this neighborhood. He hoped the assassin would be dumb enough to leave the Piece of Eden lying around and he wondered what the G-Man might threaten him with if he failed to deliver. Was there anything that strange being could even do? Emil wasn't sure who or what the man in the blue suit was though he knew it had something to do with the Pieces of Eden, devices manufactured by the gods themselves.

He froze in his tracks seeing shadows just up ahead. Figures moving in the darkness. He recognized the general shape of two of them, the distinctive armor of Synthetic Assassins. He remembered a time when synthetic assassins were more human and far more formidable. These knew synths were obvious cheaper for the Combine to produce though they lacked the skill and cunning of the real thing.

Out Emil dashed holding a gun in one hand and a sword in the other. He wasn't sure if he could take two Combine synths at once. He moved as quickly and as silently as he could sneaking up behind the first. The synth turned on him, as if sensing his presence preturnaturally, and pulled out a sword. Emil Nemico deflected the blade and fired four pistol rounds before needing to deflect yet another sword attack. The speedy synth knocked aside his gun now but this only created an opening for his sword, or so he thought. He watched the first synth sink to the ground only to feel cold steel against his spine.

"Stop!" he heard a voice shout before the synth could sink in its blade, "Don't kill him!"

Emil Nemico watched as the tall shadowed figure approached. He'd thought the voice familiar and somewhat inhuman and what he saw before him confirmed that. His eyes were wide with horror as the grotesque creature stepped into the moonlight.

"Not dead I see," Emil remarked as Ressian gestured for the Synth to sheath its blade.

"Where is Julian Miles?" Ressian asked.

"I came out here looking for him," Emil admitted with a shrug, "He's not here? Do your masters still want him dead?"

"They want what he carries," Ressian said.

"The Apple," Emil Nemico mumbled beneath his breath and Ressian reached forward and lifted him from the ground with one of her sickly claw-like hands.

"Get it for me," Ressian demanded.

"What will I get if I do?" Emil Nemico asked.

"I will spare your life," Ressian started but Emil shook his head with each word.

"There's already someone offering better than mere survival for it," Emil replied, "You'll need to do better."

"An attack on the City is coming," Ressian reminded, "I cannot stop the attack, it is too late for that, but I will tell them to show you mercy if you get me the Apple."

"And the children," Emil demanded.

"And the children," Ressian echoed with a nod, "Take these assassins with you."

"What assassins?" Emil asked and suddenly a handful of feminine figured synth assassins appeared from the shadows around them. Emil Nemico found himself, not for the first time and certainly not for the last time, wondering what he'd got himself into.

Theta watched the drill going on around her, the soldiers rolling out and taking cover. She could hear them shouting out commands and gesturing for their fellow squad mates to move up or lay down suppressing fire but she was not truly there. The drill began to fade now vanishing from her view. In its place came flashes of memory, bits of a faded and tattered past that flared across her brain like a shooting star. She could see the jungle around her and feel the heat as she descended into the stone structure. Lights flashed around her, the floor seemed to swim in blue liquid with ridges of light dancing along the walls. Images along the corridor came together to tell a story, a story long forgotten.

Suddenly she was somewhere else once more. It took her a moment to see the figures, the men in white coats. She was only a child and yet she felt like she was looking through a taller set of eyes. They kept talking about something. Their lips moved to the words as she sat in the waiting room. She could see them then, her parents, they were coming towards her now. The lights began to flicker, green lightning seemed to arc to and fro. There were other things there now, inhuman things, and her parents were there lying in pools of blood. She remembered her Mother's hand reaching, trying to get to her... and then she remembered him... whispering. _Come little one, dry those tears._

Theta found the waking world returning to her eyes. She looked up at the shocked faces of the soldiers who'd been undertaking the drill each consumed with confusion and concern for her wellbeing. She waved them away as she got to her feet pushing through the initial dizziness and rushing away from their concerned calls. She had to get away.

She came into her room and poured herself a glass of water chugging it down as if it was a drug she was addicted to. She poured another glass and sat down in her seat realizing for the first time just how much sweat was pouring down her brow. Theta had had flashes of memory before but nothing like this. In fact her attempts to remember had met with failure nearly every time, it was exactly that fact which had led her to make her own destiny. She knew the Combine had something to do with why she couldn't remember, she knew they were to blame.

Now that memory had come to her she wasn't sure she wanted it... not like this. Not with Julian and a group of refugees leaving City 12 behind to visit her and among them Alyx Vance. Theta felt another brief flash of memory. The Animus. She recalled the device then though not in any real detail but she knew that it had something to do with memory. Perhaps it could unlock the secrets she held within, the forbidden story on the temple walls and the identity of the man in the blue suit who had spoken to her as a child.

Julian and Alyx led the way for the rest of the group as they departed City 12 early in the morning. The newly dawned sun had only begun its climb into the sky as they left through the Eastern gate heading Southeast. Julian had scouted the area a few hours earlier making sure that it was clear of both zombies and Combine soldiers. The convoy was fairly large now with more than fifty citizens and about fifteen Resistance soldiers but it was still nothing compared to the exodus Julian had originally envisioned. About a dozen feet behind the assassin Allison Rogue and Hassan Aldi walked along.

It was a risky thing leaving the city on foot. Originally Julian had wanted vehicles but with the Combine lurking around the city wall they couldn't afford to attract attention. They truly didn't have enough people to warrant vehicles either and the citizens had packed light. What little extra baggage there was fit perfectly fine on the small horse drawn carriage donated by a family of farmers. Despite being contained behind walls City 12 had several farms which helped to feed the citizens.

No sooner had they made it a quarter mile from the city the sound of distant gunfire and explosions could be heard. At first Julian wanted to believe it was just a skirmish with zombies like the one he'd witnessed the day before but the unmistakable roar of Pulse Canons from Gunships and Striders tore that comforting delusion from him.

The assassin had little time to let his conscience get to him. His sharp eyes picked out movement amongst the trees. He saw the figures darting behind tree trunks just ahead of him. He gestured for Alyx to show caution and she nodded having seen the figures herself. Julian tried to get a feel for what these phantoms might be and how many there were. He moved off away from the main group watching their movements, quick and silent and noting that they didn't seem intent on attacking. There were four of them he realized and soon it became clear that these were not intent on bringing down his entire group. One of them stepped out in the open and Julian's eyes grew wide. It was female, an assassin of sorts in a skin-tight black-armor though not the typical armor of synth-assassins. It wasn't the appearance that had him perplexed though but the insignia it wore, Theta.

"Who are you?" Julian asked drawing the blue-steeled alien blade.

The enigmatic enemy dashed in engaging Julian in a dazzling dance with it's own elegant sword. Sparks seemed to fly as steel met steel in an impressive array of parries and thrusts. Julian was surprised that he found himself on the defensive as much as he did very rarely getting the opportunity to put his new blade into action. He kept his distance and made sure to keep his wits about him knowing that this Combine assassin had friends close by.

"Why so silent?" Julian asked his enemy as he scored the first hit, a knick that barely penetrated the armor on her leg and didn't break the skin.

"Where is it assassin?" a voice from the shadows asked, a familiar voice.

"Where is it?" the enemy directly in front of him asked in exactly the same voice.

"Shit," Julian said as four other female assassins all marked Theta stepped out to surround him. The first one to engage him reached her arms up and took off her helmet.

"Now you know who I am," she said though her synthetic mind did not understand why the assassin would want to know or why he now stood with his mouth agape wearing an expression of horror.

"It can't be," Julian said with his knees nearly buckling, "Theta Dark is dead! It can't be!"

Julian had to defend himself as five blades came swinging in. He decided to use three blades this time. Each gauntlet had a blade and he still carried the sword Cheng had given him. It was awkward wielding the third blade but even with all three the assassin felt pressed by the five swords that cut in around him. He dodged and ducked parried and deflected all with the precision of a machine and yet it was machines of a sort that he was fighting and their own speed and precision was matching his.

He could hear Alyx and the others calling for him now and he knew they were close by but he wasn't sure they would get to him in time. He spun realizing that each assassin he faced wore a Theta marking as though Theta Dark had become some sort of standard model synth. That idea, the idea that the Combine would so dishonor his fallen ally, drove him to fight harder. Alyx was there then and Hassan as well the elder assassin and youngest member of the Order joining battle with the enemy.

Alyx soon found herself with two swords facing her one blade but Alyx's one blade was a kris, a curved dagger that had been given to her by Jara Aldi. With the memory of Jara burning inside her Alyx fought on staving off the enemy with relative ease though she found herself backing farther and farther away from the others as she did. She batted aside one blade and tried to find an opening but the other synth covered any and all chance she had at offense. She spun then sacrificing her safety to cut at their shins, the first assassin went down to one knee as her kris sliced away at its leg but the other dodged out of the way and stabbed down catching Alyx in the shoulder with the tip of a sword. Alyx pulled away before the blade could get too deep and deflected the injured enemy's blade before driving home her kris into the synth's neck.

Alyx kept moving and stayed ahead of the other synth as she finished the first off. She became accutely aware that other eyes were watching her. Julian and Hassan, who had apparently killed their targets, looked on. Alyx felt a bit of pressure on her and it was more than just the pressure to survive and overcome her enemy. The synth darted in far too quickly for Alyx, she panicked then side-stepping just enough to avoid certain death she grabbed a knife from her belt and hurled it at the synth. The synth was charging again but as it dashed in Alyx threw knives out. Four knives hit the Theta assassin and though the enemy made it to within striking distance of Alyx she was dead before she could get her blade up to make the kill.

Alyx breathed a sigh of relief before turning toward Julian and the others. She moved her shoulder trying to work the pain out and figure out how bad the hit was.

"You could have helped," she scolded wiping the blood from her kris.

"You had her," Julian said.

"Oh my God," Alyx gasped looking down at one of the assassins, "She looks like.. but she isn't is she?"

"They all look like this," Julian assured her, "But it isn't her... it's different. It's what they made from her, a killing machine."

"The Combine aren't doing a very good job," Hassan remarked, "We killed five with only three. I thought the idea was to make a perfected version of a human assassin and Theta Dark was indeed better at killing than these versions."

"Cheaper to make," Julian reasoned, "They can never capture the real thing. Theta Dark was the closest they got."

"What do you mean?" Hassan asked.

"Theta Dark wasn't the first."

Emil watched the assassin and his rag-tag group walk away and for a moment he considered turning back. The sounds of Strider's tearing into the city's defenses instantly changed his mind. For better or worse he was following the assassin. He wondered how long it would take them to realize it. In fact he wondered if he might even disguise himself as one of the citizens along for the journey. The idea fled his mind with a chuckle as he examined the last body.

Ressian's Theta brand assassins had proved of little use though truly Emil was far from surprised. He was fairly certain that if he met the assassin in a one on one fight he would lose quite soundly. That was little problem for Emil Nemico though, he had grown accustomed to taking things through possessing unfair advantage. Perhaps things weren't so bad after all, he thought lifting a vile of green liquid as he neared the group. His eyes went to Cheng Yin and a wicked smile appeared on his face.


	13. Chapter 13: Resonant Echoes

Chapter Thirteen: Resonant Echoes

Shephard watched as the smoke cleared from the initial blast. Debris careened through the air as the full on assault against the walls continued with pulse cannons from gunships blasting down causing portions of the wall to burst into dust. The Striders were nearing the city as well charging their pulse cannons before letting loose. It was likely that the walls wouldn't hold much longer and already Combine dropships had managed to avoid their defenses and drop ground troops within the city. Shephard and his troops were already surrounded and were soon to be outnumbered as well.

There was something else then, something that tore the grizzled General's attention from the battle around him. He hear the swirling gears and watched as a shadowy monstrosity tore through the dust cloud sending his men scattering for their lives. Shephard grabbed at his binoculars catching a fleeting glimpse of the metallic monster that was now loose in the city. He watched as it cleared the debris cloud and let out a horrid metallic roar the likes of which he never heard.

Although the machine was more or less bipedal every so often it began to walk on its knuckles. On its shoulders were mounted two miniature pulse cannons although as the twisted metal behemoth fired off several rounds they seemed just as powerful as the cannon fitted to a Strider. Yet this was no synthetic, Shephard realized as he radioed orders to several nearby units with rocket launchers, this was simply robotics. There was no living element to this beast which began to howl as it tore into a nearby building with its bare hands. It swatted aside a soldier who was trying to scurry out of his way and Shephard winced as he watched the man's body impact a nearby brick wall. As the unit of rocket wielding soldiers turned their attention away from the gunships towards this new enemy Shephard found himself taking fire from a nearby fireteam of Overwatch.

It hadn't even been a full day of fighting and they were already losing. To make matters worse General Shephard and General Cartwright were the only two in command with most of the other Resistance leaders and all of the Templar leaders having gone AWOL. The Mayor, Emil Nemico, was also, unsurprising to Shephard, missing. The lack of centralized leadership in the defense of City 12 had led to low morale with some soldiers deserting. Most stayed though knowing that City 12 was their home and knowing that their children, who had been moved to a set of secure tunnels beneath the city, were counting on them.

Shephard hanged off the ledge of the roof. A smile appeared on his face when he heard the door open and the six Combine soldiers come stumbling onto the roof. He listened closely as they searched the area for any sign of him their polished black boots resounding off the concrete rooftop. One of them was close, Shephard knew, just a few inches from being able to see him. He reached up and extended his hidden blade hitting the Overwatch under the chin and cutting into its mask. A hiss of air emerged followed by a trickle of blood as Shephard hauled the screaming soldier from the rooftop and let him fall six stories to his death below.

The other Combine were moving now and Shephard had to act fast. He climbed down to a window in the building before any of the soldiers could see him as they frantically tried to figure out what was happening. He came back up the stairs toward the roof with his Pulse Rifle at the ready. Shephard kicked open the door and as he suspected all of the soldiers were peering over the edge of the building. Despite the masks that obscured their faces Shephard could have sworn he saw their surprise as they turned to see him opening fire and giving a war cry. One thirty round magazine of Pulse Rounds put them down without them getting off anything more than a frantic inaccurate hip fire with their MP7s.

Shephard had no time to revel in his victory. The ground was shaking beneath him. With horror appearing in his eyes he turned to see a nearby building collapsed. At first he wasn't sure what the hell had just happened until the smoke cleared and he saw the metallic menace from earlier moving away from the debris pile. The beasts body bore a small scorch mark, apparently it had been hit by a rocket. Whatever it was the Combine had given it incredible armor. Shephard saw another rocket swerving its way, to his horror the monster lifted up its paw and stopped the projectile sending it hurling away. It exploded a few feet from the monster leaving little more than some ash across the robots orange spherical eye.

Adrian Shephard dove indoors as a gunship buzzed the building firing in his direction. They were getting braver now, he knew, they were realizing that City 12 could not put up a good fight. The General dove back out onto the roof and grabbed his radio. He wasn't going to let the city fall without a fight... if the Combine wanted it they were going to have to take it from him.

Allison felt a shadow moving over her. He heart leapt into action and her eyes leapt open. She thought she might see some sinister phantom, perhaps even a man in a blue suit but instead she saw Julian. He was sneaking away from her side. The sun had set a few hours earlier and they had only just laid down to rest. She collected herself mentally, yawned and pursued him. He stood on the edge of their encampment staring up, as he often did, at the cosmic ceiling of stars above their heads. He turned to regard her and took her hand as she sat beside him on a fallen tree trunk.

"I didn't mean to wake you," he said softly pecking her on the cheek, "I guess I just wanted to see the stars."

"There's more to it than that," Allison said pointing out the obvious.

"I used to feel like I could take on the whole Empire myself," Julian admitted, "But now I feel so weak, so human."

"It comes with age," Allison said, "You can't always feel as though you're immortal. If any human being in this world deserves to feel strong its an assassin, you've worked all your life to-"

"It's always come easy to me," Julian interrupted her, "Oh sure the training was physically exhausting but that's only because my Father was so serious about it. In a world controlled by hostile aliens I can forgive him for that. I never had to truly work for my talents and now I come to find I can break free of the pull of the Pieces of Eden, the very devices made by the gods to control mankind."

"They could be losing their power," Allison theorized, resting her head on his shoulder, "It's been centuries."

"Makes sense I guess," Julian agreed though his tone didn't seem sold on the idea, "For all my strength I still ran from City 12. I left them to die."

"You left them to live," Allison dissented, "You left them to protect me and to protect yourself after most of them had turned their back on the Assassin Order!"

"They were misled," Julian said defending the citizens of City 12, he paused afterward and then sighed profoundly, "I feel so unsure about everything. Where do we go from here?"

"To Hunters Fall," Allison explained, "We'll find some answers there, answers to how you break the power of the Pieces, answers to why I keep having such strange dreams... and maybe even answers on how to better fight the Combine. Now come on, let's go to bed, we need to get moving first thing in the morning."

Amber Cartwright had seen the thing but she'd barely believed it was real. The middle-aged female General had seen a great deal in her twenty plus years of fighting the Combine but this was unlike any piece of weaponry the Empire had ever built. It towered nearly twelve feet tall and wore several chunks of thick armor over its extremities and weak points that seemed melded to an original understructure. It was cutting a swatch of destruction through the city tearing apart the foundations of buildings and bashing aside whole squads not to mention the powerful pulse cannons it wore on its shoulders and the fact that with each armored gauntlet it wore was a powerful chain-gun.

She had ordered several dozen of her men to keep the war hound at bay while she took another group attempting to flank it. It wasn't easy though as night had fallen over the city and in the darkness it was hard to tell friend from foe. Already the jumpy men and women in her squad had almost ended the lives of several Resistance members who'd moved passed them. They could see the creature now though as it lifted a dumpster over its head and crushed three men to death with it before turning to deflect a rocket with its built in gravity gun. It was going to take several rockets from several different vantage points if they were actually going to bring down the beast.

One small team of her men broke off and headed for a nearby roof as Amber and the rest continued down the street before also splitting apart into two groups. Amber went with the first group and shouldered an RPG of her own as they quick moving behemoth smashed right through the wall of a nearby wrecked building and stood toe to toe with them just fifty feet away. She radioed for all the teams to fire and watched as rockets soared in from all around. The first two sailed past the bot and blew up behind it, the third was caught in its clutches by the grav-gun and then thrown back towards the rooftop where it had originated. Amber watched in horror as the creature deftly dodged with agility far above that she would have expected. In the end only one rocket hit home breaking off one of the creature's pulse cannons. This damage seemed only to anger the robotic beast and Amber and her team fell back a bit reloading their rockets and getting ready to hit the creature again.

A cold shiver crept up Amber Cartwright's spine as she fell back into the shadows and loaded another RPG. Something was amiss in the darkness. The chaotic sounds of the continuing battle, the swirl of smoke in the air, the constant pounding of pulse rounds being fired from both friendly and enemy alike all seemed joined together in a perfect storm. Yet there was something else there in the darkness and as one of her soldiers screamed out she became all too aware and all too afraid. The black skinned insectoid had killed one of her team and was stabbing at a second woman with a strange blue-steeled sword. Amber lifted her rocket launcher as the poor woman screeched and sputtered in her death throes, she yelled for the others to get clear as she fired. The rocket sliced like a blade through the night air but it missed the creature and just kept going.

"Fucking hell," Amber mumbled under her breath as her eyes darted to and fro to find the alien assassin and to find the rest of her team. She heard a muffled cry from around the corner and thought to rush to the rescue, instead she flanked around coming up behind the black skinned creature. But this was no ordinary Combine soldier, this was Ressian Malil. She spun on Amber stabbing and slicing and cutting so quickly and so gracefully and yet with such passion that Amber could scarcely keep herself back away from the blade. The strange alien eyes, filled with cold malice, peered down at her as she lay helpless. Amber reached for her rocket launcher but soon felt a cold steel blade against her throat.

"You're one of their leaders aren't you?" Ressian asked though she'd seen the insignia from her rooftop perch. She'd been tasked with keeping their new toy safe from harm, it had been her pet project after all to turn Alyx Vance's pet into a weapon of war, "End of the road."

"For both of us then," Amber spit, "Only I won't be the one left sucking Satan's dick in Hell!"

Amber pulled the trigger on her RPG and watched the alien's eyes go wide before it all went dark.

Theta felt so strange standing there in the body of a child. She peered through eyes that felt alien to her and yet she knew that they were her own. The world around her moved with a strange speed although her own movements seemed slow and distorted as she watched the players around her on the stage. Her parents were there with sullen expressions of worry, her Father was yelling. She felt tears well in the eyes of that child... her own eyes... she hated when he yelled. It wasn't her that he was angry at she knew, she saw the man, skin flinted man in a brown boxy suit with his hair halfway between gray and white. Her Mother was crying now and that was only causing more tears to swell in her eyes and further distort these phantasms of the past.

Things seemed to speed up around her once more and soon she found herself being led down the hallway. Her Mother was still there and wore a sad expression. The man who held her hand, to her horror, was not her Father but a sinister looking man in a blue suit. She felt a flash of pain though whether it was from the past or the present she couldn't tell, it was as if merely seeing him threatened to shatter her psyche. She couldn't focus on his face no matter how she tried.

Another flash of rapid speed and she was alone. No longer a child she now stood in a teenage body looking at the tubes, an endless room that stretched on forever in her mind. In each tube something grew, something that bore every bit of what she was, something that looked just like her. Something inhuman. A voice seemed to echo around her as her essence was once again poured into that little girl's body. She stood in the desert now.

"I'm taking her and that's final!" She heard her Father shout, his angry tone drove her to cling to him closely.

"She has done exceptionally well in the program Mister Eisley," the strange man beside her Father hissed, "All the other girls enrolled have been pulled."

"I don't care!"

"Your tone Mister Eisley, need I remind you that I could have you... terminated?"

"You think I care about my job? My daughter is what's important to me and if you think you can-"

"I wasn't talking about your job Mister Eisley," the man in the blue suit growled turning away and adjusting his tie, "She will remain in the program at my discretion, is that clear?"

"Yes," Theta heard her Father say, his tone was that of a man broken and alone, "Yes I understand."

Theta Prime woke from her dream unsure what to make of it. Her past had always been muddled, it had always been a mystery to her, to assume that these dreams were accurate visions would be premature. She lifted her hands to her face and felt that her cheeks were wet with tears. Whatever these visions were she could not deny their raw emotional strength.

She sat up in bed half expecting to see the sinister man in the blue suit materialize before her eyes at the foot of the bed. She curled her legs up out of irrational fear and felt a profound emptiness within. Were these just dreams or were they echoes of the past bouncing off the walls of her mind?

Ressian felt the crushing weight of the debris on her body and soon the pain of shrapnel lodged in her exoskeleton also became clear. She struggled to get her claws against the floor solidly enough to lift herself up out of the pile. Wood, plaster and dust poured off of her as she stood. She looked up to see a trail of blood glinting in the moonlight. An expression of surprise, although few humans would have identified it as such, appeared on her face. Had the noble General survived the blast? A survey of the area outside certainly led the injured, but not seriously wounded, alien to that conclusion. The assassin followed the trail of blood a few blocks noting that it became very sporadic as though the woman had at some point stopped to tie off her wounds. Ressian thought that perhaps she'd underestimated some members of this ordinarily weak species.

The alien assassin climbed atop a nearby roof surveying the area. Barely an hour had passed since the blast at least as far as she could discern. A wave of panic coursed through her as she scanned the horizon for Dog or War Hound as she had taken to calling him. She had an alien name for him as well but despite her off-Earth origin she had to admit she liked the sound of it in English. It had been her idea to rebuild Alyx's friend as the human race's worst robotic enemy but it had led to her current unfortunate assignment. She had been tasked the baby-sitting the brute and making sure it was not destroyed in battle and didn't commit any friendly fire. She looked down at her wrist console and noted that the EMP device located there had been smashed in the explosion.

Ressian sighed. She was not looking forward to having to explain this hardware failure to the General. The Combine had appointed a slug-like alien, one Yvolslog Urwel, as the strategist and conqueror of City 12. She had not enjoyed her first meeting with the long-lived alien leader. Though she knew not their proper name she knew that the General's species lived for centuries at a time often spinning themselves cocoons as they got older only to emerge renewed and be capable of living another century or two. Along with Overwatch and Combine Elites Yvolslog had ordered thousands of troops teleported in from the Borderworld. The Xenian residents long ago gained their freedom from the Combine when the Nihilanth was killed but now more and more of them were being recruited or enslaved once more into the Combine's army. Ressian liked to pretend the reason was because it was easier to enslave them but she knew the truth. The number of humans was wearing thin and those that were available were getting older.

She heard a roar that seemed to stretch across the city and witnessed a massive seventeen story building come tumbling to the ground. Another roar soon followed in the silence after the storm of debris. With a resigned sigh she headed off in War Hound's direction hoping to catch up to the beast before a Resistance rocket could find a kink in his armor.

Emil watched as the man stumbled out of the camp in search of a tree to urinate on. Nemico turned his back to Cheng as the man, who seemed entirely oblivious to the world around him, relieved himself. The sun wasn't even risen yet but the camp would be up and moving soon. Already Julian had stirred although the young assassin currently seemed more intent on making breakfast for the group. That was precisely the opening that Emil Nemico needed to do his deed. He hopped down from the tree and unsheathed a combat knife approaching quietly until he was right behind Cheng. He grabbed the man and forced the blade against his throat placing his hand over the man's mouth to muffle any noise he might make.

Emil spun the man around seeing Cheng's eyes grow wide when he realized who he was dealing with. Cheng looked as if he was about to scream but Emil had the blade to his throat in an instant quelling the man's excitement. Cheng took several deep breaths as if to calm himself before Emil took his hand from Cheng's mouth, the blade remained near his neck however.

"What are you doing here?" Cheng whispered.

"Never mind that," Emil said producing a small vile of poison from within his bag, "You owe me Cheng, you owe me and the Templars a lot of money and you are going to do me a favor. You're going to kill Julian Miles."

"But he saved my life before," Cheng said, "And I've helped your thugs before and they said my debts were-"

"Do you want me to kill you?" Emil asked, his eyes flaring with intensity, "You are going to poison him with this, put it in his food or drink. If you don't do it I will kill you. In the confusion, as he dies, you will grab the chest from within the wagon. The heavy wooden one with the emblem of the Assassins Order on it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Cheng said feigning ignorance, "What Assassin's Order? What chest? What-"

"You may be young and naive Yin but you are not stupid," Emil scolded, "You will do this for me or I will kill you."

"You'll never get into the chest without a key," Cheng tried.

"That is my problem," Emil retorted handing the man the vial and wearing a wicked grin, "That is yours."

Emil watched the man waddle away toward the camp. The first rays of the sun were just coming over the horizon and other than Julian and Cheng only a handful of others were awake mostly because their young children had awoken them. When Julian began screaming and ranting due to the effects of the poison confusion would ensue and create the perfect opening. No one would suspect Cheng of any foul play either and few eyes would be upon him as he made his way back to Emil.

Emil watched fairly closely although he kept a good distance from the group watching and waiting. He saw Yin Cheng make his move pouring the vial into Julian's canteen while he wasn't looking before moving quickly away. Emil felt satisfied especially when he saw Julian lift the canteen to his lips before the assassin continued to gain more fire wood. Emil felt anger swelling within him when he saw Cheng rush toward Julian and fall to his knees as if begging for mercy. Feeling betrayed Emil dropped down to his bag and got out a silenced pistol and attached his sword sheath to his belt before leaping back into the trees and moving closer to the camp.

It was his fault, he knew, he had been far too trusting of the scientist's cowardice. It made little difference now, though the assassin probably managed to avoid a lethal dose from the few sips of water he took Julian would no doubt be impaired by it. Even now Emil could hear the cries of confusion ringing out. The deed, even if incomplete, had still been done but now he found himself as the one who would have to retrieve the Apple.

Emil could see the wagon now and despite the fact that several of the group were gathered around it he dropped down from the trees anyway and crept inside. They were all focused on Julian who was now vomiting violently and babbling as they all gasped in horror. He felt a smile on his face as he rummaged through their belongings and supplies and soon came across the chest in question engraved with the emblem of the Assassin Order. The crafty former Mayor of City 12 wondered whether he would give the orb to the G-man or perhaps deliver it to Ressian Malil, alternatively he might keep the object for himself. With his mind brimming with possibilities and crawled into the drivers seat of the carriage.

"He's trying to steal the Piece of Eden!" Cheng yelled pointing in Emil's direction, most eyes of the group remained with Julian as many didn't even know what a Piece of Eden was. Alyx and Allison did and both turned to see Emil Nemico. Alyx leapt to her feet and rushed for the carriage which was already beginning to move away. Allison waved her on as she fumbled in her things searching for her specially designed HEV suit and hoping she could get into it in time.

Alyx sprinted a break neck pace catching up to the carriage and leaping onto the back of it. The terrain around them was rough as Emil took the carriage off the trail and out into the forest. Alyx came dangerously close to flying off and nearly got knocked aside by several trees. She was agile and strong enough to hold on and she crawled up to the roof staying low to avoid being struck by branches.

She soon reached the drivers seat and leapt down atop Emil. The man pulled the reigns to stop the carriage but his actions were far from controlled with Alyx raining down punches atop him. The carriage veered and toppled onto its side as the horses whinnied and screeched to a halt. Emil broke free of Alyx grasp and tried to get his sword but Alyx dove for him with her hidden blade extended. Emil grappled with her for a moment kicking at her legs and pushing her back until fell from the carriage. She had been overpowered but she wasn't out.

Alyx landed on her feet and drew Jara's kris, now hers, and waved her opponent on. Emil had his sword out as well a beautifully crafted long sword that was clearly the work of Templar craftsman. It's white steel flashed out cutting Alyx's left shoulder and narrowly avoiding stabbing into her arm as she tried to dodge. She dodge the next swipe-stab combo with ease and batted aside another few attempts with her kris.

The morning sun was adding more and more light to the fight as the minutes ticked by. Emil would try several attack patterns and motions which Alyx deflected though she had little time in the flurry of calculated assaults to mount any offense of her own against the man. Eventually she decided she would have to make her own opening. She went in for an attack and let her sword get hit out purposely wide right. Emil stepped within her reaching thinking to drive his sword straight through her. Alyx side-stepped his blade and bashed her right shoulder into his face while also stomping on his foot and kneeing him in the stomach. She had to retreat as he reset his sword but she had scored her first blow.

Emil came on fast and hard with his attacks leaving Alyx to defend herself from a flurry of flying metal that left her using both hidden blade and kris to save herself. She couldn't keep it up forever though and a ploy like her last one wasn't likely to work again. Emil Nemico became more physical now using his greater size and physical strength to force her back before he did something she definitely didn't expect - he ran.

Emil rushed for the carriage hoping to get to the chest inside and mount one of the horses. Instead he found himself propelled through the air. He felt his ribs hit hard against the trunk of a tree. His head was spinning and the breath had been knocked out of him as he rose to his feet and turned to regard Allison Rogue. Another pulse from her gauntlet sent him face first into the next tree trunk breaking his already bloody nose and leaving him flustered. Suddenly he was the one overpowered, suddenly he was the one with a knife to his throat.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now," Alyx growled holding her hidden blade against the side of his throat and her gun to the back of his head.

"I can offer you what's in the chest," Emil tried to reason, "The Apple can be yours if you help me, if you join-"

"You are responsible for the death of Desmond Miles," Allison said shaking her head, "And you're responsible for the death of Jara Aldi."

"Don't kill him!" A voice shouted and all eyes turned with surprise to see Julian jogging up to the scene with his young face still gaunt from heaving up his breakfast, "Don't waste a blade on this bastard."

"Why would you spare me assassin?" Emil asked truly perplexed, "You of all people have reason to kill me."

"I know why you've come here," Julian said, "I know that if you fail to get the Apple you will be in trouble with more than the Templar Order."

"You've won," Emil admitted, "And what you say is absolutely true. If you will not let me take the Apple than perhaps I could join you. The Templars have already abandon me and all of City 12, they were likely in league with the Combine. They had foreknowledge of the attack. If you won't kill me than let me join you."

"No," Julian replied flatly, "Death is too easy a way out for you but I couldn't bear to have a piece of fucking scum like you on my side. So you'll be a pariah, you'll turn back from here. If I ever see your face again though, trust me there will be nothing recognizable left of it."

"I have no choice then," Emil responded despondently and in that moment he did look truly defeated in every way.

"They will not stop looking for the Apple," Emil admitted as he took his bag and began moving away from them, "Despite having so many of the other pieces they seem utterly obsessed with that orb in particular."

"Will you go back to City 12?" Julian asked although he truly wasn't all that interested.

"I'll go where they won't find me," Emil said mounting one of the horses, he took one last look at every one before riding away. In his heart Emil Nemico knew the truth, there wasn't anywhere in all the world, perhaps in all the Universe, that he would be safe. He had risen to power, a meteoric rise to the top during which he'd hoped to break down the power structure of the Assassins. He'd seen himself as a nemesis, an archrival of Julian, the equal of the young assassin in battle. The truth was far less glamorous than the romanticized fantasies that had once filled his naive mind.

Theta felt as though the jungle around her was breathing as she floated in the blue mist of that place. It was so strange there, the light seemed to transcend all. A pinprick of plasma-blue illumination stood elevated in the exact center of the room undisturbed by the chaos going on around her. The Maldragons had gotten close to finding it though she had little idea what it was she knew that it had been the Apple that had led them here.

The world around her faded away as another memory was deconstructed and a new one was put in its place. She was back in her childhood body or at least she assumed it was her body. She saw the man before her, it wasn't her Father but his dark skinned face was warm and friendly and covered in a five o'clock shadow. He was ranting and raving about something as he stood before the whiteboard which bore endless scribbles like some sort of complex formula or equation. A woman entered the room then carrying with her an even younger child, a girl of no more than three. The woman was beautiful and to Theta's mind she seemed familiar not just from her past but from her present as well. The feature's of that face were not alien to her entirely.

"Azian," the unshaven faced man said in a surprised voice, "I thought you were getting her tested!"

"She scored above average," the woman admitted setting down her toddler aged daughter, Theta studied the little girl who smiled at her and she found herself smiling back, "But they say she isn't fit for the program, I just don't get it, that damned fool seemed so interested in her... our mutual friend. How are you doing Eli?"

"Running over some calculations before the test tomorrow, we've got a very odd sample," he said with a sigh sitting down beside her, "I just hope Gordon and the boys don't mishandle this one, if my calculations are correct we've got a potential mess on our hands. I've tried explaining it to the Administrator but he wouldn't have it."

"That's Breen for you," Azian replied with a helpless chuckle picking up her child, "My shift is done, I'm heading home. Should I tell Barney to hold the tram for you?"

"I'll be along then honey," Eli replied turning back to his calculations, "See that little Miss Eisley finds her way home as well."

"Your Mom's been looking for you sweetie," Theta heard Azian say to her.

Theta felt the waking world around her reappear once more. Another night and another dream with more hauntingly familiar faces more fragments of her forgotten past echoing in the darkness.


	14. Chapter 14: Lost City

Chapter Fourteen: Lost City

The ragtag group of City 12 refugees rolled up to the guarded gates of Hunter's Fall begging for entry. They were tired, they were out of supplies entirely, and the road had been a perilous one. Although they'd made the entire trek without once coming into conflict with Combine forces they had been forced on more than one occasion to take a round-about route to avoid being seen. And so, hungry and fatigued, Julian and his group entered Hunter's Fall hoping to find Theta Prime's hospitality just as welcoming as it had been during their first visit here.

Alyx stood as rear guard of the group watching for any signs of trouble. She wasn't all that worried about any Combine assaulting them during entry, she was more concerned about the Templars. Her attention was divided however. Her olive eyes kept darting toward the gate hoping she might catch a glimpse of Theta. The two had forged a fledgling relationship during their last visit to Hunter's Fall which Alyx had every intention of continuing. There was something about Theta, something eerily arousing and also something familiar.

Darkness was falling as they entered the base. Many of the soldiers of Hunter's fall were astounded by what the group brought with them. Children. It had been decades since any of their eyes had witnessed the miracle of human life. Cheers rose up as they entered that seemed to echo throughout the fortified base, in every building and barracks, in every dorm and civilian housing there was a moment of awestruck silence followed by happy cheers.

Julian, who was leading the way on horseback, dismounted and looked at the faces of the soldiers. Most of them were in their fifties, some even older and the older they were the louder they cheered at the sight of children. As Julian walked forward to meet Theta and her fellow Officers Allison joined him and the place fell into a sudden reverent silence at the sight of a pregnant woman. A group of female Resistance soldier's passed by flashing a smile in Allison's direction that was not without a hint of jealousy.

"Welcome back Julian," Theta said shaking his hand warmly, "You too Allison, my how you've grown."

"Any word from City 12?" Julian asked shaking hands in turn with each of the Officers.

"Scattered radio transmissions mostly," one of the Lieutenants replied, "None of it good."

"Shephard," Allison whispered beneath her breath just loud enough for Julian to hear, he put a hand on her shoulder.

"We'll get the civi's some food and lodgings," a man marked as a sergeant said approaching the group proper.

"There you are," Theta said with a smile a mile wide as Alyx approached. Theta opened her arms wide and accepted the woman into a warm embrace, "Come on, we'll go inside, we have much to discuss and much to do."

Emil Nemico approached the South side of City 12 just as the sun was setting. The road had been a long one and one that had given him time to think; time to brood. He'd considered for a brief moment turning entirely against the Templars and joining the assassins. Julian's anger about his Father would subside sooner or later, Emil knew the young assassin wasn't stupid and would take allies where he needed them. The idea had seemed quite attractive at the start of his journey back but now it was the farthest thing from his mind. A mind now indwelled almost exclusively by smoldering embers of vengeance. He wanted what was rightfully his, not just the City but the prestige, the power. If the Templars and the Assassins could not grant it to him, he decided, than perhaps the Combine Empire could.

The former Templar could see the Combine Overwatch out-post up ahead. The Empire had drop-ships bringing in reinforcements almost constantly but in the last few hours they had stopped. Emil thought that perhaps they would begin retreating, that Shephard and his tenacious forces had been too dug in to be defeated. That idea fled when he saw the troops ahead camped comfortably enjoying a meal. It was his first glimpse of the Combine with their helmets removed. Their gaunt visages were only visible by the flickering light of campfires and bombs bursting over the besieged city. Sickly and pale, with eyes that seemed devoid of the fire of life and even worse their heads seemed permanently embedded in those helmets. Their meals were some sort of paste slurped through a clear plastic tube.

Emil had no time to stop and shed a tear for the soldiers. He could make out the outline ahead of him, the command bunker for the Combine forces. With adrenaline coursing through him he stood up in the brush and raised his hands in surrender. The eating soldiers paused during their meal and brought up their AR2 rifles. One soldier opened fire, pulse rounds whizzed past Emil who shouted out that he surrendered as the firing continued. Finally it stopped and Emil looked down at himself breathing a sigh of relief to find his body lacking holes.

"I surrender," he repeatedly breathlessly as one of the soldiers drew close, his dead-eyed stare and grotesque inhuman seeming flesh leaving Emil weak at the knees.

"Citizen," another soldier, this one masked, called "Come with me."

"Please," Emil explained as he approached, "I am Emil Nemico, I'm a Templar, I can give you information. Please, I-"

Emil felt the words flee from his lips as the butt of the soldier's rifle impacted the side of his skull. Dizzied he staggered forward imagining in his head all the ways he could take down the soldier if he chose to. Emil Nemico was no weakling, but he was also smarter than that.

"I can tell you where to find the Piece of Eden," he said, the soldier lifted his rifle as if to strike, "I can tell you how to defeat General Shephard!"

The soldier stopped and grabbed Nemico by the collar. He pushed Emil forward toward a bunker. The former Templar turned attempting to escape but before he could a blue energy shield materialized before the opening to the bunker. Emil knew it would be useless to try to escape. The Combine energy fields were stronger than any truly solid door ever could be. He slumped to the floor of his would-be holding cell and waited.

Ressian hauled herself over the ledge and pulled her sword out from it's sheath. The dark blue steel soared end over end cutting the soldier's AT-4 laser guided rocket it half as it left the barrel. The rocket fell to the Earth un-detonated. The rocket squad turned their attention on their newfound enemy, the black insectoid alien rushing toward them. Ressian was unarmed and outnumbered but for a Maldragon that was hardly a serious disadvantage, especially against human adversaries. She cleared the distance between her and the soldiers in the time it took them to switch to their side-arms. She stood waiting for them to attack with a knowing smirk on her mandibles, though no human would have perceived it as a smirk. Down came War Hound from the roof above the men crashing amongst their ranks. Two of them were crushed beneath its steel-pad feet, another was soon scooped up in its grasp and torn in two pieces by War Hound's devastating metallic grip.

Ressian enjoyed having the metal monster around to do her dirty work. She had been assigned to escort it, to defend it even, but now most of what she did was guiding it to each new target. They'd steered clear of truly strategic targets thus far preferring to take out ground resistance. While it may have seemed an odd strategy for such a prolific war machine it had worked out nicely. Dog had devastated most of the rocket wielding Resistance members in the city.

"Ressian, do you read me?" The voice of a Combine Elite blared over Ressian's radio-com device.

"Ressian here," the Maldragon responded collecting her sword and leaping from the roof.

"General Urwel wants you back at HQ," the Elite demanded, "And bring the Hound in."

Ressian hurried through the city. She didn't like working under Yvolslog and she was hopping that her work here was done. The center of City 12 was almost Resistance free now and those that remained were being shelled. Soon zombies would begin to devour the city from the inside out. Ressian questioned the decision to turn them all into zombies. She was no fan of the human race but even slave labor was a preferable fate to being devoured by a Xenian head-crab. Ressian also knew that the Combine were in need of new Combine soldiers.

The alien assassin guided War Hound through an area of heavy Resistance taking down a slew of soldiers on their way through the city. Dog had taken several direct rocket impacts and sustained only mild damage during the entire siege leaving Ressian quite surprised at the resilience of the human-built technology on top of which she and her team had built.

The night was just beginning to deepen, the last of the sun's rays vanished behind the horizon, as Ressian and War Hound reached the bunker where the General was holed up. She shook the dust of war from her exoskeleton and stepped into the shadowy room. It was moist inside, humid, the room acclimated to the ideal conditions for one of Yvolslog's species. The General leaned his slime-covered appendages against a control panel some distance away before turning with his beady black eyes, all six of them arranged seemingly randomly in his thick moist chalky white skin, to regard Ressian.

"I trust the beast is fine," Yvolslog remarked in a broken and hardly understandable attempt at speaking the native language of Ressian's people, the Maldragon.

"A few scratches, but still functional," Ressian announced proudly, "I counted four hundred and sixty three dead, another fifty three wounded."

"Truly a thing of beauty," the General whispered, this time in his native tongue, a form of Xenian, as he caressed the scorched panels of War Hounds armor, "The City will be taken before dawn."

"Sir?"

"Ressian, we have received word that the Piece of Eden has been taken from City 12."

"The assassins," Ressian nodded.

"You knew of this?" The General exploded as if he would charge his impressive and grotesque girth across the room to strangle her. He calmed immediately, "They left in a small convoy. The assassin, Julian Miles, along with Alyx Vance, a known fugitive. They have the Piece. Take War Hound, bring back the Apple, kill the assassin, and bring Alyx Vance back alive."

"Yes sir," Ressian said turning for the door.

"And Ressian," the General grunted, once again in the tongue of the Maldragon, "Do not fail me."

Ressian Malil was rarely worried but as she walked out of that godforsaken chamber she felt a shudder throughout her exoskeleton. That last warning hadn't been a hollow one. Along with being a well-known Combine General Urwel was also in charge of Off-World assignments. He could send you to any far flung corner of the cosmos and leave you there to rot. For someone like Ressian, someone hoping to one day be free to choose her own path, the idea of being forced off-world, to Xen, or any of the other Combine outposts scattered across the dimensions, was a frightening one indeed. At least for now she was free of his influence, free to find Julian by her own means and get the Apple.

Emil Nemico stepped smirking into the General's chamber as Ressian exited. He felt a sense of smug superiority even as the stench and humidity of the room overwhelmed him. The grotesque General turned to regard him. Emil averted his eyes as best he could but the sheer girth of the monstrous military leader made it almost impossible.

"You have done well," the General said in halted guttural English, "The Combine Empire thanks you for your generous donation of information."

"Donation?" Emil burst with his tone bordering on anger, "You promised me power. You promised me I could be an Officer, a commander in the Combine army."

"All in good time," the General said before offering a horrifying utterance that seemed half belch half cackle. Emil turned as soldiers rushed in with stun batons swinging. He grabbed the first one and drove the soldier against the sticky wall of the bunker bashing the man's head against the wall. There were too many though and soon Emil found himself face down on the floor subject to a barrage of baton blows, "Take him," the General cooed cruelly, "Make him one of us."

Allison stepped out of the shower and dried herself off noticing how her once flat stomach was protruding more and more. She was still a ways off from giving birth but already she was showing. She reflected on the flashes of hope in the eyes of those she passed here in Hunter's Fall. Despite being off the beaten path the base here was still under the power of a Combine suppression field some forty miles to the South. Allison felt a sudden sadness sweep over her as she got dressed. City 12 and the surrounding area were the only places on Earth, other than small pockets in Europe, where the Combine suppression field had been taken down. Now City 12 was falling back into the hands of the Combine.

She left the bathroom and put on a smile for Julian hoping he wouldn't see the unsure sadness beneath. She grabbed him by the arm and guided him out of the room. They'd been invited to a feast in their honor hosted by Theta and catered by the soldiers of Hunter's Fall to celebrate their safe arrival.

As they approached the table, with the feast all laid out before them - fresh fruits, vegetables, not the military rations they were used to - Allison felt a wave of guilt. She looked to Julian whose face wore a similarly guilty expression. They knew that Shephard and his men and women were in City 12 being laid low by the Combine Empire while Julian and Allison sat selfishly at a feast in their honor.

"Before this feast begins," Julian said tapping his tin cup and waiting as the soldiers quieted down, "We must drink a toast to the fallen. To all those lost since the Combine arrived, to all those we are losing right now in City 12. We will not forget, and we WILL repay."

Allison swallowed down the barely drinkable water served at their feast and took her seat with a lump in her throat. She felt dizzy as she sat down and grabbed her fork. Her head felt light as a feather. She remembered this feeling, this dark calm forcing her from one person to another. It had haunted it for years after her escape from Coldwind. Even now that she had ascended so far she wasn't immune. She looked to Theta across the table and stretched out her palm finding herself suddenly sitting in a hospital.

"Mister Eisley, it's time," a nurse said, but soon she too faded from sight and Allison was back at the table.

"I'm fine," she whispered to the soldiers who surrounded her, and to Julian who cradled with a worried expression on his young face.

"Another vision?" Julian asked sitting beside her and holding his hand to her forehead as if checking for fever.

"You've been having them too?" Theta asked nearly dropping her fork.

"I've always had them," Allison said, "They used to be entire personalities, memories of my ancestors."

"They had her in the Animus day and night," Julian explained, "The bleeding effect became so strong she nearly lost her mind forever."

"The visions," Theta said, "What do you see?"

"I used to see a lot of things," Allison admitted taking a drink of water and taking a deep relieving breath, "But mostly now I see that damned Jungle. I see Nam. I see-"

"A temple?" Theta asked and when Allison's eyes went wide she continued, "Have you ever been to a place called Black Mesa?"

"How did you know?"

"I've had visions, memories of Black Mesa," Theta said taking a bite of her food finally, "and I have seen the Temple."

"The Piece of Eden was there I think," Allison said closing her eyes as if concentrating on remembering, "I can't remember."

"That's what I'm here for," Cheng said chomping away on his dinner.

"What does he mean?" Theta asked.

"His Father helped design the first Animus," Julian explained, "And with any luck we'll be able to recreate it and figure out what the hell this temple is and what is has to do with the Pieces of Eden."

"The key to the future is in the past, perhaps," Theta remarked with nod and a sip of her drink.

Shephard could barley pick himself up off the ground after the pulse blast from another Strider hit nearby turning a wall only a few feet away from him to dust. He grabbed at his gun, an AR2 specially mounted with an ordinary fragmentary grenade launcher. He slammed his back against the wall as the Strider came close punching with rapid pulses into the room. The pulses missed him however and the spry old General slipped down the stairs as the Strider walked passed the building and turned around apparently satisfied that it had killed him.

Shephard turned his eyes skyward as he emerged onto the street making sure to take down cam-bots. These small hovering nuisances were the Strider's mobile army of eyes. Shephard pummeled a nearby cam-bot with pulse fire before turning his grenade launcher on the Strider. The tripedal beast stumbled forward as grenade after grenade hit it's insect-like body. It tried to turn but the narrow street wouldn't allow it and it had to press forward far enough to turn around. By that time Shephard had already flanked around to the front of it. The General leapt at the nearest cam-bot and grabbed hold of it from beneath. He was lifted into the air, the bot's eye desperately trying to catch him on camera to free itself from his grasp as he hovered through the city streets. The General twisted and turned to get the fiesty bot to turn where he wanted it to and descend and ascend at his will.

He swung the bot back around and began firing on the Strider. It wouldn't be enough, he realized as the pulse cannon mounted on the metallic synth turned skyward in his direction. He reached down and grabbed a belt of grenades he was wearing. Having to keep one hand on the bot meant he couldn't pull the pin, he tossed the grenade belt down at the towering Strider and grabbed his AR2 waiting for the right moment to pull the grenade launcher trigger. The belt fell and smacked hard against the shell of the synthetic Strider, Shephard took aim and fired, his grenade erupted in a hail of fire and shrapnel just beneath the Strider's armored top and detonated the grenade belt. The grenades exploded right at level with the Strider's underbelly, the synthetic insect went down, synth parts flew in every direction and it's three legs separated in spectacular fashion from the torso.

Shephard brought the cam-bot down to a nearby roof-top and disembarked nearby several friendly Resistance soldiers. It was a small fireteam of rocket soldiers who had been targeting that particular Strider and each of them stood gob smacked by what they had just witnessed. Shephard shook them from their awe and lead them out of the building. He was late to his own meeting, over a thousand soldiers were gathering in a nearby playground readying a counter-strike against the invading Combine.

The night had been a long one and dawn was still several hours away but Shephard hoped to have the team gathered and ready by then. The Combine had moved most of their infantry out of the City leaving War Hound the Striders to break apart the Resistance. War Hound was gone now and rumors had it that Resistance rockets had brought it down boosting morale. Shephard doubted the rumors himself but their strategic value was not to be underestimated. They had to move and move before Overwatch re-entered the city.

Shephard could see the soldiers now, and through the smoke and darkness one figure stood out to him most of all, despite the fact that she was laying on a merry-go-round being tended by a medic.

"Amber," Shephard called out falling to his knees in front of her, "Holy shit, how the fuck are you alive."

"Don't cry on me soldier," General Cartwright protested.

"I thought you went down," Shephard replied half-laughing half-crying.

"I mean it," Amber growled, "I don't want these wounds to get infected."

"Will she be alright?" Shephard asked the medic tending her.

"She should be fine," the man replied.

"Tough old bitch," Shephard nodded.

The General's joy was short-lived as the unmistakable roar of drop-ships and gun-ships filled the air. He rushed for a nearby AT-4 nearly stealing it out of the hands of one of the rocket team he'd met on the roof. There must've been a dozen of them, they swooped in out of nowhere bombarding the gathering of troops with heavy pulse fire. Shephard felt tears returning to his eyes as he guided in a rocket to a direct hit on the nearest gunship. He rushed for cover as he aimed his next rocket, this time the gunship broke apart crashing amongst the ruins of the city.

The troops scattered too and fro. Shephard watched as the medic who'd been escorting General Cartwright was clipped by pulse fire. He dashed from cover to get the General as a drop-ship landed right in front of him. The General handed Amber a weapon and waited as the doors the drop-ship opened. Something stepped out, or rather slithered out.

"Drop the weapons," the grotesque creature said struggling to be understood over the din of battle still raging behind him, "We know where your children are. We know of the tunnels General Shephard."

"No!" Shephard shouted as Combine soldiers surrounded them, "You didn't!"

"I didn't, YET," the General emphasized, "But I will if you do not surrender. There are pockets of Resistance that will not surrender until you order it personally."

"You won't harm the children if I do this?" Shephard asked, though he knew better than to truly trust the worm.

"Let me put it this way General," Yvolslog gloated, "I WILL most certainly harm them if you DON'T."

Theta sat alone in her room staring at a closed-circuit monitor. On the screen was Cheng and several of her top engineers and scientists working eagerly, quickly, to assemble the Animus. She hoped it would only take a few days to assemble. She was eager to be done with the dark memories that had begun to plague her and even more eager to know her true identity. Yet amongst that desire their dwelt an unspoken fear, fear that the truth might be painful. Fear that it might bring with it a heavier price than she had imagined.

She turned her attention to another screen. Alyx was on the way back to her room. The graceful strides of Alyx's sexy figure brought a smile briefly to Theta's lips. She paused for a moment recognizing something truly familiar about Alyx though only vaguely. She quickly shut off the monitor and turned her attention back to the one where Cheng continued his work on the Animus. Alyx knocked a few seconds later.

"Come in," Theta said smiling at Alyx as she turned to regard her.

"You still awake?" Alyx asked finding Theta sitting in her quarters watching a surveillance screen.

"He's tireless," Theta remarked with a gentle yawn watching Cheng work on the Animus prototype.

"It will be dawn soon," Alyx said.

"I'm not tired," Theta said, "I don't know why. Maybe it's the chance to finally have my answers to who I am and where I came from. Or maybe it's having you back with me."

Alyx blushed at that but did not turn down a passionate kiss from the intriguingly beautiful Theta Prime.

"With everything that's been happening I've been thinking," Alyx said staring into Theta's seemingly white eyes with lust burning in her olive orbs, "All this time I've been afraid to indulge. I spent so much time with Gordon afraid to tell him how I felt. I won't make the same mistake with you."

"Let's go to bed," Theta said with an arousing inflection to her tone.

Shephard stood in front of the microphone and camera as the day dawned. The Combine had spent the remainder of the night setting up massive televisions to broadcast this message. Some had been taken down by remaining Resistance soldiers but most had remained intact. He never thought in all his years that he would be forced to surrender, that he would have to be responsible for the failure of his forces in this way. He would be the one to enslave the remaining citizens and soldiers in City 12. His failure, his mistakes, his weakness. He knew that it was the only way to preserve the future of humanity, the keep the children safe. Shephard knew that the General, a slug-like monster named Yvolslog Urwel likely had plans for the children as well.

With shaking hands, a bruised and battered body and a barely audible voice Shephard began his announcement.

"Soldiers of City 12, proud brave men and women. Those who fought beside me in the best and worst of times, from Black Mesa to this present crisis. This is General Adrian Shephard. It is hard for me to say this but you MUST lay down your arms. You must surrender to the Combine. I know that many of you would sooner die that surrender, but the fate of our children hangs in the balance. They will kill the children if you do not surrender. Many of you may lose you respect for me after this, I can understand that, but you must lay down your arms. I repeat, the battle is over, the city is fallen, the war is lost. Surrender is the only option."

Shephard slumped out of the camera's sight and felt his throat swell with bile. The taste of his vomit was made even stronger when the alien General's hulking globular form entered the room with what might be taken for a smile on his face. Shephard felt the urge to end the demonic thing's life then and there, to find some way, anyway, of delivering a killing blow. There was nothing in the climate-controlled bunker he could use to do such a thing and even his hidden blade had been confiscated.

"Commendable job General," Yvolslog goaded, "Do you think they will listen?"

"I don't know," Shephard said throwing his face into his palms in defeat, "some may remain hostile."

"I tell you this!" the alien General exploded in a sudden rage, "If so much as one of my Overwatch is scratched by one of your MEN I will raze this city to the ground and makes slaves of your children!"

"We're already broken," Shephard replied hopelessly, "How many more fragments can you break us into?"

"We will grind your pathetic race into dust if we have to," the General uttered in his unnatural pronunciation of the English language. Several soldiers entered then, "Take the General to our POW camp to be with the other dust."

Shephard felt broken in spirit but as he passed by other Resistance soldiers who'd been taken prisoner he felt the dark clouds lifting. They couldn't see him like this, their morale couldn't afford it. No matter how many decades it took they would see the Combine defeated and they would see every last suppression field and Citadel destroyed. He had lied to the men in that city. The war wasn't over, the war was far from over. The war wouldn't end until the last human being stopped breathing or the last remnant of the Combine Empire departed the surface of the Earth.


	15. Chapter 15: Infinite Regress

Chapter Fifteen: Infinite Regress

Light came flickering back to his eyes as his mind, reeling and filled with confusion, returned to consciousness. For a moment his frighteningly foreign surroundings and fluttering sporadically blurry vision stole away any memory of how he'd arrived here. Soon enough though flashes of remembrance flooded through his mind forming a fractal pattern. He desperately tried to place those scattered pieces in an order that made sense as he watched several gaunt and grotesque figures enter the room. They seemed human enough, at least at first, but soon his eyes caught a closer glimpse as one stepped towards the table he was laid on. Skin and bones with twisted gears and bolts protruding from their heads and horrid gangly legs tipped at the bottom with robotic peg-legs. Emil Nemico had heard of them before, Stalkers, but this was the first time the former Templar had ever seen them.

Emil Nemico, he repeated in his mind as his memory at last returned in whole. Only now did the horror occur to him of what was happening. He tried to move but found himself paralyzed, likely drugged, even if he'd had the ability he could see that several straps held him in place. Even more disturbing were the clear plastic tubes protruding from his skin feeding an unknown neon blue liquid into his body.

"What are you doing to me? Let me go goddamn it!" Emil shouted though his words were barely understandable. An electric shock coursed through his body peeling away any remaining layers of defiance.

Emil looked down at his body, his skin was sickly pale. At a distance his eyes, which were only now returning to full focus, caught sight of something against the wall, a group of Combine solders, Overwatch and Combine Elites, watching his transformation.

"No!" Emil shouted, "I won't become one of you! I won't!"

Another jolt burst through him, the agony through him from consciousness for almost a minute until his eyes at last opened again. He looked up at the sickly Stalkers as they adjusted machines and poked him and prodded him with instruments. They themselves had had this very thing done, they themselves were members of the Resistance at one time. Their wills were now broken by the Combine, as his soon would be.

"No," Emil whispered quietly truly lamenting his fate, a third shock followed and soon he was enveloped in the darkness again.

Alyx opened her olive eyes with frantic calls echoing in her ears. She looked up thinking she would see Cheng Yin standing right in the room with an eager expression. The man was rushing up and down the halls yelling about how he'd managed to get the Animus up and running and despite it being the crack of dawn outside he seemed extremely excited. Cheng had spent two and a half days, almost without sleep, working on the Animus and now, if his early morning shouts of jubilation were to be believed, he was just about finished.

Alyx glanced beside her to where Theta lay. The woman was sprawled out beneath her covers with nothing but a tattered old shirt on. Alyx gave Theta a smile and planted a gentle kiss on her lips as she opened her tired eyes.

"That was wonderful," Theta said with a yawn, "Now can you go tell him to shut the hell up."

"I thought you wanted the Animus to be done," Alyx chided with a grin as she, wearing nothing but her skin, got back into her clothes.

"I do," Theta argued, "but I value my sleep, especially after such a," she paused for a moment as if looking for a way to phrase it, "busy night.

Alyx gave Theta a naughty smile before heading for the door where Cheng, who'd been pressing the buzzer for a good twenty seconds, stood waiting. Cheng wore a different kind of smile and had a glow that seemed contrasted by his exhausted expression and the deep blue bags under his tired eyes. He jumped up and down happily shaking Alyx's hand frantically before rushing into the room.

"How much coffee did they give you?" Theta asked with a laugh, "I thought instructed them to limit your access to caffeine."

"I've done it," Cheng said ignoring her joke, "the Animus is running like a dream!"

"It works then?" Alyx asked.

"Well, I'm not sure," Cheng admitted, "I mean I did a few modifications to the design. Come on, I'll show you."

Theta followed Alyx and Cheng her attention torn between watching the hyperactive inventor or watching the graceful gait of Alyx Vance. She could hardly believe that the answers to her past could now be unraveled at her leisure. More than thirty years of her life remained hidden from her and what little had returned in flashes of memory had only added to the mystery. She stepped into the Animus chamber utterly amazed at how polished the prototype looked despite it only being a few days of construction.

"Incredible," she whispered as she ran her hands over the metallic surface.

"Looks almost like the real thing," Julian said with a smirk.

"Yeah, it does," Allison echoed though her expression was more one of apprehension.

"I added a monitor here," Cheng said, "this will allow all of us to watch what's happening in your ancestor's memories as you relive them."

"Everything looks good," one of the scientists, an older man by the name of Jerry Bauman, said as he punched something into the computer terminal set up beside the Animus, "but we'll need to test it out on a subject."

"Do you want to?" Alyx asked Theta.

"Are we even sure this will work?" Theta asked biting at her finger-nails, "I mean the memories I most want to access are my own."

"It should be able to do that," Jerry said, "Might have to adjust a few parameters but that's perfectly feasible."

"I'll do it," Alyx announced with a distant expression as if she was remembering, "I know just the ancestor I want to visit too."

Ressian watched as her most beautiful creation went to work on the Resistance convoy. She knew she was close to a Resistance stronghold, all the intel they'd gain had led her to this area but for all her trying she'd been unable to find it despite more than a day of searching. Finally she and War Hound had come across a patrol and the massive metallic canine was getting some practice for the fight ahead.

Already War Hound had taken out one of the two soldiers carrying rocket launchers. The other was some distance away cowering behind a tree and desperately trying to load his launcher. The soldier was obviously inexperienced. Ressian wondered how on Earth any human could be inexperienced at fighting the Combine after this many years of alien occupation. It made little difference really. War Hound was closing in on the soldier now as bullets and pulse rounds poured in from the other Resistance in the area. Bullets did almost nothing to the resilient robot and pulse rounds left small but negligible dents in his armor.

He crashed into the copse of trees where the rocket wielding soldier had holed up and tore through the densely packed trunks. Just then the man stepped out, took a knee and fired off a rocket. Ressian's black alien eyes went wide as the smoke cleared. War Hound was holding the soldier helplessly in the air above him, his armored face plate was charred and even from this distance Ressian could see his eye lens was cracked yet other than that he was entirely undamaged. A darkly satisfied feeling rushed through Ressian when her monstrosity crushed the life of the Resistance soldier almost snapping the man in two with his massive hands.

She moved in now hoping to get in on the fun. Several stragglers had broken off from the main group and she was determined that none would make it back to the base to warn Julian and the others. She'd spent two days of travel to get here but the assassin's trail was not so easy to follow even with a convoy of civilians in tow.

One of the soldiers broke off and attempted to get his ATV started. Ressian could see that War Hound was busy bashing through the forest in pursuit of four or five other soldiers. This was her chance, she drew her sword and rushed forward with impossible inhuman speed. Like a black shadow she dashed past the tree line and toward the trail the patrol had been traveling down. The man had his vehicle started now, he looked up and attempted to ready his weapon as he caught sight of her. He fell to the trail bleeding out from the wound in his neck before he could fire off a single round.

Ressian felt a bullet strike her left arm. She narrowed her insect-like eyes in the direction of the human who'd hit her. She was a good distance away up in a tree holding a sniper rifle of some sort. Ressian felt another bullet strike her, this time in the abdomen. The alien winced and grabbed her side amazed that the weapon had the kick to pierce her naturally armored hide. The alien dove grabbing the MP7 from the man she'd just killed and taking aim. The sniper was considerable distance away but Ressian didn't have the eyes of a human being, she could easily see her target. The alien fired off a series of shots and watched as the sniper dropped out of the tree. To Ressian's surprise though the woman wasn't even immobilized, though clearly at least one round had found its mark. Ressian took aim with the SMG again but before she could fire off a round War Hound emerged through the trees and grabbed the woman.

"Stop!" Ressian shouted in command as she approached the scene, "I wish to speak with her. Place her down gently."

War Hound responded with a series of friendly robotic buzzes and whirs setting the woman down softly on the trail below. Ressian noted that she'd been hit in both the outer thigh on her right as well as in the shoulder. She also noticed that the woman was far older than she'd expected, at least sixty Earth years of age.

"What the hell are you?" the woman grunted trying to stand. She didn't seem at all afraid despite her question.

"We're looking for a base," Ressian said, "The place called Hunter's Fall. We believe that a man has come there."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the woman said grimmacing with each step.

"Hunter's Fall," Ressian demanded with the blade of her sword on the woman's throat, "You have already fought honorably and showed great endurance and earned a small measure my respect... do not make me kill you. Hunter's... Fall."

Ressian felt no remorse as the woman fell dead before her. She searched around for several minutes hoping to find at least one other survivor but War Hound's efficiency had been her undoing. She decided it would be best to follow the trail the patrol had taken, hopefully it would be enough to lead her to Julian's doorstep.

Shephard walked through the POW camp with his head hanging low. The once proud man had been brought low by the Combine, brought not only to a point of surrender but to a point of cowardice. Now the General could hardly bear to look his fellow Resistance members in the eye. Most of them didn't blame the man, they'd heard the leverage that the Combine possessed. The Empire had found access points to the tunnels where all of City 12's children were being kept safe. To not give in would have caused the blood of those children to be on Shephard's hands.

It was small comfort that the children of City 12 were still alive to Shephard for he knew the Combine had untold horrors in store for them even if they agreed to honor their arrangement. It was a big IF. In the early days of the invasion Shephard remembered hearing of similar situations where Resistance children were captured and used as black-mail leverage and then killed anyway. The Combine used others for tests and still others for slave labor but many millions of children had been killed by the Combine. That loss still hung heavy over the human race and now the hope that had been restored, the ability to procreate, had been swept away.

City 12 was immediately put under the power of a new suppression field keeping all citizens from procreating. While most soldiers who'd surrendered had been moved into the camps outside the city most of the civilians had remained inside City 12. Shephard had heard rumors that the Combine planned to kill them all though he thought it far more likely that they would be forced to rebuild the city starting with the Citadel.

Shephard sat on the ground under the blaring summer sun and watched his fellow soldiers walk like lifeless zombies around him. Morale had been utterly annihilated by the surrender and despite his best efforts to keep his own spirits high he too had succumbed to the hopelessness of their present situation. He could only hope that Julian had a plan to return to City 12 and take the city back.

"Why the sour face?" a familiar voice asked and Shephard looked up to see General Amber Cartwright staring him down. She was standing on make-shift crutches with a wide grin on her face. She plopped down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder, "This is only temporary."

"It was our victory that was only temporary," Shephard corrected, "Our Resistance was only temporary... we've lost."

"Losing is only temporary," she argued, "Eventually we have to win, that's just statistics."

"I don't see how you can remain hopeful," Shephard sighed.

"You, prisoner, stand up," a Combine soldier demanded. Shephard stood, "Not you... her."

"She's injured," Shephard pointed out with an indignant tone.

"Stand up," the soldier once again demanded, this time he got out his stun baton.

"It's fine Shephard," Amber replied refusing his help to get herself on her feet.

"Good," the soldier mused, "Now take off your shirt."

"Excuse me," Amber replied with an angry glare.

"Leave her alone," Shephard demanded, the soldier pushed him away and held up his baton as if threatening to strike.

"The shirt," the soldier demanded once more this time grabbing Amber and tearing at her clothes himself, "and the pants."

Shephard watched as the soldier tore her shirt off laughing as he did it. The General's eyes darted around and finally came upon a particularly pointy rock buried in the ground. He rushed over and pulled it out lifting it over his head as he got a feel for it in his hand. He bumrushed the soldier tackling him to the ground and taking several baton blows to the head all the while driving the rock down into the crevice between the Combine stooge's armor and his helmet. Amber rushed to help holding the soldier's arms as Shephard did his work. Soon blood flowed freely from the Overwatch soldier's neck and Shephard found himself surrounded by prisoners who watched on with agitated cheers. Soon though Shephard was joined by more than two dozen Overwatch who held their guns out ready to fire at him if given the order.

"Thanks Shephard," Amber said as the Overwatch put them both in cuffs, he watched as they dragged her away screaming, "Remember, there's always hope. We have to win this fucking war!"

Alyx Vance had been present for a great number of scientific experiments in her twenty-nine years of life but most of them had taken place before she was old enough to understand or even truly remember them. There was one man who was present for them who did remember them though and that man had passed his memories to her. She stood now in the lab coat and polished black shoes of her Father Eli Vance. It was a strange feeling being placed into the body of her late Father even stranger was that she was looking at herself through his eyes.

Eli was seated on a playground bench in some sort of inside daycare facility watching her play. She was three or four years old and playing with a child who looked a few years older. Through her Father's eyes she watched the two children play. Her Father turned then to regard a balding man with handsome features seated beside him.

"She looks a lot like her Mother," the man said to Eli and Alyx recognized the voice as belonging to Doctor Isaac Kleiner, "How is Azian taking it?"

"Azian doesn't know what to do Izzy," Eli replied, "The administrator has covered the whole thing up, it's that damned superior of his, you've seen him around. Government man," Eli spat, "Doctor Eisley was a colleague, she did so much for Black Mesa and her husband was a war hero!"

"And we're getting more and more Xenian samples," Doctor Kleiner said with a worried expression, "There's no telling how many crystals will be just as unstable as the one that caused the accident. What will become of her daughter?"

"I don't know," Eli said shaking his head, "She was in the room when it happened though."

"My God," Kleiner remarked with mouth agape, "she seems to be playing with Alyx alright, she seems fine."

"He wants her tested," Eli sighed with tightened fists.

"Who?" Kleiner asked.

"That damned G-man."

Alyx felt herself floating in a sea of memories drifting out of her Father's eyes and away from that moment in time. Someone was using the external controls to guide her to another memory. She'd chosen the dates more or less at random except for one date, the day of the Resonance Cascade. It was on that day that the aliens broke through the dimensional barrier because of the meddling of some scientists at Black Mesa. Her Father was one of those men though she knew he only held a small portion of responsibility for the incident.

She fell back into her Father. The blaring desert sun scorched his eyes, the sound of helicopter routers spinning filled his ears. Directly in front of him Eli stood a man in a blue suit who seemed vaguely familiar to her. Alyx's younger self stood at her Father's side holding tightly to his hand as they stood in the desert. The man in the blue suit adjusted his necktie as he struggled to be heard above the roar of the nearby chopper. Beside the man, who held a Black Mesa briefcase, was the same little girl Alyx had been playing with earlier.

"It would appear that you owe me a debt Doctor Vance," The g-man cooed before turning to the young woman beside him, "As for this little one, I will take her off your hands."

It was now that Alyx saw the girl's almost gray eyes and knew immediately who she was. It seemed so impossible and Alyx had to wonder if her present memories weren't in some way encroaching on the Animus' presentation of her Father's memories. It was Theta.

"Dammit man," Eli shouted, "You've stolen this girl's family and now you're going to steal her away from her last friend in the world?"

"If you don't like it than perhaps I could take them both," the g-man hissed and Eli grew quiet, "As I expected."

Alyx cursed her luck as she began to fade once more from her Father and began the journey toward another memory. The background went blank as if there was nothing. A sea of fragmented memories exploded into view and slowly she was focused down onto one memory. At first she thought to force herself to exit the Animus, a mental exercise that Doctor Bauman had taught her before going under but as her sight returned she felt warmth and sadness flood her mind. She was once again watching her younger self through her Father's eyes. She was a few years older now and beside her stood a small four-legged bot no taller than she was.

"Can I keep him?" she heard herself ask in a young girlish voice.

"Can you keep him?" Eli chuckled, "I built him especially for you. He's like a guardian angel, he's programmed to keep you safe."

"Angel?" little Alyx asked dismissively, she watched as the mischievous mechanoid rolled himself into a sort of ball and began somersaulting around. She reached out and petted his face plates and he responded with a pleased whirring noise, "He's more like a dog."

"Alright then," Eli said with a smile, "We'll call him Dog."

"Come on Dog, let's go play," Alyx said and Dog buzzed eagerly, "I'm gonna teach him some tricks."

"You do that honey," Eli replied, "But be careful. I'll be in the lab."

"But don't you wanna play too Dad?" young Alyx asked with a pouty face.

"I wish I could sweetie but you know that Judith and I have a lot of work to do if we hope to save the planet from this awful mess."

"Always in the lab with Judith," Alyx griped, "Come on Dog, let's go so Daddy can have his alone time with his girlfriend."

Eli chuckled as she walked away but Alyx could sense the sadness behind that laugh. Slowly she began to come out of that memory as well and soon enough her real eyes were opened. She looked up at Cheng, who still hadn't gotten any sleep, and Doctor Bauman. She could feel that her real eyes were wet with tears that she hadn't felt before, those teary eyes searched for Theta but the woman was nowhere to be found in the room.

"She left," Julian explained, "During the first memory, when the two girls were playing."

"She knows," Alyx realized leaping from the Animus and feeling a bit disoriented once her feet were beneath her.

"Knows what?" Allison asked.

"That litte girl was her," Alyx explained as she struggled to regain her coordination.

The old Emil Nemico was no more. As his eyes opened he soon realized that he wasn't seeing through eyes anymore. His biological binary sight had been replaced with some kind of high-tech heads up display. He looked down at his hands, armored gloves that allowed for increased dexterity. These were not the hands of your average Overwatch soldier. Indeed as he studied his armor he slowly came to the realization that he wasn't an ordinary soldier at all. All of his memories were in tact and his mind seemed, for the most part, unmolested and yet as the General, Yvolslog Urwel, entered the room, he felt compelled to stand at attention before the beast.

"I must say they are getting good at this," the General proclaimed in barely understandable English, "It only took them a few days to do what would have taken a month not long ago."

"I don't understand," Emil Nemico said noting the robotic and artificial sound of his voice, "I'm not an Overwatch."

"You're a synthetic," the slug-like General explained dragging his wretched form across the room to regard the Stalker's handiwork, "Part of a new unit I've developed."

"My mind is the same," Emil said with astonishment, "I thought you would bend me to your will."

"We have," the General cackled, "You are entirely under our power but you still retain the illusion of complete and utter free will."

Emil felt panic flood his mind, he felt bile well up in his pseudo-mechanical throat, he felt anger but he could not strike out against the General no matter how hard he willed it. The General was right. The former Templar, once proud of his autonomy, once hungry for individuality, was now part of a collective. There was nothing Emil Nemico could do. With a resigned sigh and a profound feeling of despair her hung his head low.

"What would you have me do General Urwel?" he asked in a flat tone made only more monotonous by his robotic voice.

"Ressian Malil is close to the assassin, close to Hunter's Fall," the General said, this time in his native alien tongue, yet somehow Emil fully understood every word, "She is retrieving the apple. You will take four thousand troops with you, all of them Combine Elites, and you will make sure she succeeds."

"Four thousand Elites!" Emil exclaimed.

"Many of them were proud soldiers defending City 12 to their last breath," General Urwel snickered, "Now they will help the Combine to gain unlimited power."

Emil wasn't sure what the General meant. The Apple of Eden, while certainly a powerful device, was far from all powerful. Were the Combine really that confused about the Pieces of Eden. It seemed unlikely for an advanced empire that had been seeking the Pieces for years to be so misinformed about them. Perhaps it was a translation error, he thought, he still wasn't fully sure how he was able to suddenly comprehend the General's language.

Emil stepped out of the room and into the midsummer sun wondering how much of his body was still human. Clearly his brain had been retained, or at least some aspect of his personality. But then how could he tell? How would he know if this was the real him or just a copy downloaded onto a computerized brain? For all he knew the real Emil Nemico might have died with his physical brain. He shook those thoughts from his mind when his eyes came upon a sight they thought they'd never see again.

"Vera!" Emil exclaimed startling the Templar leader who was inspecting a group of Synthetic humanoid soldiers similar in armor to him.

"Soldier?"

"It's me Vera, it's Emil," he explained as the woman eyed him nervously, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You're a synth," she said absent-mindedly ignoring his question, "I cannot believe they did this to you."

"Nevermind me," Emil said still not sure if he was happy to see her or not, "What are you doing here? Why are you helping the Combine? Is this where the Templar loyalties truly lie?"

"The Templar loyalties lie many places," Vera admitted quietly as she pulled the man, or synth, aside, "They're looking for something, something powerful."

"The Apple," Emil stated bluntly.

"No, not the Apple," Vera said once, her wild eyes checking to see if they were watching from any side, "Something better."

Alyx opened one eye and let it adjust to the darkness of the room. She could barely make out Theta's sexy figure in the bed beside her but the way her partner was breathing gave her all the information she needed. Theta was asleep. Alyx held her breath and slowly but surely slipped from under the covers and put her pants back on trying not to make any noise. Thankfully Alyx was trained by the assassins and was more than stealthy enough to sneak out of the room.

She passed quietly passed Cheng's chamber where the man was finally enjoying some well-deserved rest and soon came into the Animus room. It was quiet, too quiet and if she made any amount of noise she was libel to wake everyone in the complex. She rushed to the computer terminal taking only a few moments to learn the controls before programming in her destinations.

Alyx Vance wanted that connection to her Father but more than that, she wanted to know what happened to her Mother, what happened that day. The day the whole world went to shit. The day of the Black Mesa Incident. She closed her eyes and let the Animus take her under, she swam in a sea of memory once more. Eons of her ancestors, a web of interconnections sprawled before her as far as the eye could see, an ocean of infinite regression.


	16. Chapter 16: Harbinger

Chapter Sixteen: Harbinger

Theta Prime lay down on the cold metallic surface of the machine and watched the display overhead light up. Number sequences, letters, images flashed on the screen above as her eyes grew heavy and her mind more distant. The flashes of white and blue led her down into an ocean, a sea of flickering memories. The last fragments of her trepidation faded away as she lost herself in the Animus drifting towards the ancestor she'd chosen to visit. Rather than decode her own memories and discover her own past she'd opted to visit her Father. It seemed strange to her that as her being flooded into the memory of her Father she found herself in a helicopter soaring over the canopy of the jungle below.

"We're over the DZ now gentlemen," she heard her Father say, "We're going in to find the Temple. If you see anyone, VC, friendly, anyone that isn't one of our squad, you are free to engage."

"I'm not too keen on shooting any of our boys Lieutenant," one the grunts in the chopper griped.

"Officially the United States has pulled out of Laos and Vietnam, the war is over gentlemen, if they ain't POWs and they're wearing our uniforms they sure as hell ain't friendlies."

Theta felt herself slipping away from her Father for a moment, her mind disconnected from the genetic memories that were decoded by the Animus. The connection soon reestablished itself. She felt a breath of air fill lungs that didn't belong to her. At first she assumed the connection was weak but soon she saw the debris and heard the shell-shocked ringing in her Father's ears. Gunshots soon came into crisp clear focus as the shock of the explosion wore off and Theta's Father, Lieutenant Morgan Eisley, got to his feet.

"Fucking VC," one soldier spat.

"There's something else," one of the privates screamed firing off randomly into the jungle, "There's something else."

"You alright Lieutenant Eisley?"

"We need to split up, Jacobs, you take three men out, fire as many rounds as you can. Draw the bastards away from the Temple."

Theta lost her connection again. She struggled to focus in, to pinpoint a memory, any memory, in that swirling mist. She found herself standing in the Temple once more with Morgan Eisley's boots on the ground. The stone walls were lit up with images, carvings overgrown with jungle vines that seemed to burn away as the Temple came to life. It was as if the structure was awakening and even though Theta was only reliving the memory she could feel her Father's awe, his fear, his pain. Finally he found his way to the innermost chamber where the sphere floated, suspended above the chamber floor by some sort of beam. The sound of a gun clicked behind him and the Lieutenant spun.

"Alistair Vidic," Eisley spat in disbelief staring at a decrepit old man who must've been nearly a century old.

"We've been looking for it everywhere, and at last you've found it," the old man groaned holding his weapon quite sure-handedly for a man of his age, "Hand over the Apple."

"They warned me you might show up," Eisley chuckled as if not at all afraid, "They told me the Templars had found this place first."

"We couldn't get the Apple," the old man explained, "We needed someone, someone of altered blood."

"Your forces have lost Vidic," the Lieutenant reminded the man, "And your alien assassins have abandoned you. You are the only Templar left who knows where this place is and this spherical device contains the only map back here."

"You don't know that," the old man tried to argue, "I might have told everyone in the Order where to find the Temple."

"And risk the chance of them getting it for themselves?"

"Just hand it over Lieutenant."

"How about I shoot you instead?"

"Shoot an old man? Even I know you're not that cruel."

"You're right," Theta's Father replied grabbing the Piece of Eden and holding it out in front of him, "So I'll just move you out of the way."

Theta watched as her Father, using the Apple, lifted the old man from the ground and set him down a few feet away. As the golden flames faded from the man's body her Father raced from the Temple. The sound of helicopters roared in his ears as he reached the top of the Temple and raced toward the hovering aircraft. Soon he was aboard with Apple in hand. As the helicopter rose up over the jungle canopy Theta felt herself losing control again.

"She's coming out of it," a voice said alerting Theta to the fact that she was once again in her own body living her own life.

Theta felt her eyes wet with tears. She searched the room with her pale eyes finally coming to rest on Allison Rogue. Theta knew little of the woman. Sure they'd had a few conversations but the two had never truly known each other. But now Theta felt an innate connection, as if she was staring at a long lost sibling suddenly returned to her by fortunate circumstance. She stepped from the Animus barely able to walk and embraced Allison with tears streaming down her cheeks. Everyone in the room was frozen in confusion and Alyx fought the urge to feel suddenly jealous at the show of affection. Even stronger though was her need to comfort Theta who had now broken the contact with Allison and turned to face a nearby computer panel. Theta stood pretending to input data as the others watched and waited for her to speak.

"You were there weren't you?" Allison asked breaking the silence, "You were at the Starseed Temple?"

"I was," Theta admitted though she still did not turn to face them, "Or I should say my Father was."

"The last time I was in Hunter's Fall I was there too," Allison explained putting a hand on Theta's shoulder, "Lieutenant Morgan Eisley."

"How?" Theta asked finally turning around.

"You must share some ancestry," Alyx theorized.

"The Combine made me as a composite," Allison said suddenly, she was unsure of where the explanation was coming from as it left her lips, "A composite of numerous people's genetic codes so that they could probe as many memories of as many people as they possibly could. You must be a part of me and at some point the Combine must've tried to access your Father's memories through me."

"Spooky," Cheng said and as everyone turned their eyes to him he sheepishly stuck his head back in his work on a nearby laptop.

"That's enough remembering for one day," Theta said with a heavy-hearted tone to her voice.

Allison felt a cold chill crawl up her spine as she and Theta parted ways. Even with Julian at her side she felt utterly vulnerable as if some very dark part of herself had just been laid bare. In truth it was the opposite. There was no herself, not really. Her genetic code was a Frankenstein stitch job. The genetic memories of dozens, maybe hundreds, crammed into each cell of her young body. She was truthfully unsure of where her own genetic code, at least that which had nothing to do with genetic memory, was even her own.

Even more disturbing was that Theta had apparently shared a fate similar to hers. The woman certainly had to have spent time in Combine custody in order to implant the genetic memories of Morgan Eisley. Allison had largely overcome the darkened past of being experimented on by the Combine though much of her memory was likely unrecoverable due to the exorbitant amount of time she'd spent in the Animus. Theta was already emotionally distraught just from accessing her Father's memories. What darkness would possess Theta if she delved too deeply into her own memories and, in a way, deeper in Allison's.

"I'm a monster," she whispered absent-mindedly as she lay beside Julian. She half-hoped he'd heard her but the assassin of her dreams was already dreaming.

Adrian Shephard sat in his cell brooding. The man had been through every emotion in the spectrum in the last few days but his focus now had turned to anger. The grizzled General had lived through the entire nightmare the human race was still enduring from being at ground zero for the Resonance Cascade to the fall of City 12 less than a week earlier. Now the proud General was in cuffs waiting whatever horrors the Combine had in store for him. Inside the spirit of rebellion still burned brightly, still sought escape, still waited anxiously for the moment when freedom could be restored. Outwardly though you wouldn't be able to tell that the man was even awake. His eyes were shut in the darkness of his holding cell.

The door swung open, the sound of the rusty steel and the brightness of the light beyond instinctively forcing his eyes open. Two Overwatch soldiers stood before him, their blue armor faded and torn, beaten that way from years of service. Shephard had heard rumors that all Combine soldiers received one uniform and it was that first and only uniform that they took to the grave. Apparently that rumor had some truth to it.

The Overwatch led him down a corridor. They were in the City 12 prison far from the POW camp he'd been in only days before. This wasn't his first time being housed here. City 12 prison was where he was held after being framed for Desmond Mile's death. Shephard took this moment to wonder whether the City would have fallen if the Assassin leader were still alive.

They went deeper into the prison, down into the storage and maitenance areas. Shephard saw what they were doing down here. Some rooms had medical tables where prisoners were normally treated but now they were covered in the blood of innocent victims. The Combine preferred to torture their prisoners. The soldiers stopped at the end of a hall and punched a code into nearby door. The metallic hinges released and a hiss of sterile smelling cool air emerged from the chamber beyond. The Overwatch led him in and Shephard's eyes went wide when he saw them. Three rows of six and all but two were occupied.

"Now," one of the soldiers said in a robotic voice prodding Shephard to lay down in the nearest Animus, "We're going to see if your ancestors knew anything that can be of use to the Combine."

Alyx sealed her eyes shut tight and tried to make the images flee from her tired mind. She was exhausted and yet her busy mind would not allow her to find any rest. For the last three hours she'd tossed and turned seeking sleep. Theta lay beside her sleeping soundly despite her emotional ordeal in the Animus. Every time Alyx closed her lovely olive eyes she could see the calculations, the flashes of light, the aliens arriving through the dimensional breach. She hadn't directly witnessed the Cascade as Gordon Freeman had but her Father Eli had run many of the calculations and done the simulations. Those numbers flashed before her eyes frustratingly as she tried to sleep.

Even more strange seeming was the connection. Just before going to sleep Theta had explained her visions to Alyx in more depth and the act of explaining it all in detail had calmed the woman considerably. There were words in there that seemed familiar to Alyx but one stood out. Starseed. Alyx knew that word through Eli only, it was one that the man had spoken, written, and warned his colleagues about just before the disaster. Just before the Earth was invaded. Even after the Combine had arrived, Alyx knew, the Starseed cyrstals that her Father had known continued to be a point of interest as Eli went over and over again in his mind what went wrong that day in the Test Chamber at Black Mesa.

Alyx felt like she had all the pieces to the puzzle but had no idea what the big picture was meant to resemble. No matter how she twisted these ideas in her mind she could not make sense of them. She crawled quietly out of bed and stood at the door wrestling with the temptation to go back into the Animus. She'd sneaked out the past two nights to delve into her Father's memories once more. She heard Theta stirring behind her.

"Alyx?" the woman cooed softly and Alyx felt her heart grow lighter and a smile emerged on her lips as she turned back toward bed.

"Just getting a glass of water," Alyx assured her, she walked over to a nearby refrigerator and removed a pitcher of purified water.

Alyx lay back down beside Theta and turned to face the half-asleep woman. Theta was truly a beautiful sight even if her breath at this distance wasn't exactly flower fresh. Alyx closed her tired eyes and instead of Eli's endless calculations she saw the face of a lover and a friend. Sleep came swiftly.

Emil Nemico wasn't sure why he had such a spring to his step as he marched toward the General's office. It was not even dawn and yet the slug had called for him. Lucky for the General as a Synth assassin Emil needed almost no sleep. Where once he'd been at odds with his transformation and filled with rage towards the Combine Emil now felt truly rejuvenated, given a new lease on life. There were downsides of course and as he stepped into the climate controlled bunker of the slug-like alien general he was reminded of them. He could not disobey the Combine and for now that meant subservience to the odiferous gastropod Yvolslog Urwell.

"You sent for me General," Emil said turning to the sickly pale thing, it's grotesque girth for some reason entirely naked and stuck against a nearby wall.

"Yes, I need to know if your team is ready," the General explained in a meandering barely understandable attempt at English. Emil's new computerized brain was programmed to decode the General's native alien tongue and display it in subtitles on his heads up display but in the last two days he'd found the General preferred to speak in English. Emil knew it was likely just to annoy him as the General often took a long time to say things and his stilted English was hard to dissect even with his synthetic ears.

"My team is prepped and ready for assault," Emil replied, "Overwatch could use a little work but then Overwatch has always needed more than a little work."

"I suppose you would know," The General cackled, "You used to be fighting against them."

"When do we deploy sir?" Emil asked not wanting to give the General any satisfaction if he could help it.

"Ressian still hasn't made contact," the General explained, "You're to leave in one hour. One thousand Overwatch, four humanoid synths including yourself, and we'll have gunship and Strider support as well. Remember, we need that Apple and my superiors have told me that they while they want assassin dead they want his wife and Alyx Vance, alive. Once you have the two women raze that entire base and kill everyone inside it."

"Very well, sir," Emil replied turning toward the door.

"The fall of the human race has come Nemico," The General said, "Be glad you're on our side now."

The sound seemed to cut through the barrier her sleeping mind had assembled against intrusions. Cursing under her breath Alyx's eyes snapped open to see Theta getting into battle-ready gear across the room. Alyx felt a sudden lump well in her throat as she leapt up and grabbed her shirt and gun and rushed over to Theta.

"Perimeter alert," Theta explained, "Two targets. Not human."

"Combine?" Alyx asked.

"We're not sure, all I know is that they made it across the hopper mine field with ease and cut through the East Wall defenses like they were nothing. We've got two dozen men out there trying to hold them back but communications have been spotty."

"You can't go out there yourself," Alyx said grabbing a nearby M4 assault rifle

"That's what you're planning on doing isn't it?" Theta asked with a sly grin.

"Well yeah but I-"

"Come on," Theta winked.

Alyx followed her down the hall racing to keep up with the woman's quick steps and frantic movements. The two stopped to find Julian getting into his HEV suit. Cheng stood beside him informing him that the repairs and modifications he'd asked for hadn't been completed. The suit still bore several partial tears and bullet impact dents in the high-tech hardened armor material and the once bright orange color was now faded considerably. It was also missing a chunk from one sleeve that the assassin had cut out previously to make room for his hidden blade. Julian was soon wearing the armor which Cheng had modified the other arm allow his other hidden blade to be worn at the same time. Previously Julian could only use one hidden blade while wearing the suit.

"Nice Cheng," Julian remarked, "I hope the old Mark IV holds up."

"Any news on what we're facing?" Alyx asked the young assassin, she noted that his almond eyes were brimming with an anxious fire.

"From the descriptions I've heard I have only one guess," Julian said, "Ressian Malil."

"The Combine assassin?" Alyx asked suddenly feeling not-so-brave, "She followed us here."

"She was sent here," Julian corrected holding the Apple up before passing it to Cheng, "To get this. Keep it safe Cheng."

"Yes sir," the man replied in a loyal military tone.

Alyx and Theta bid the assassin farewell turning to their own plan of action. The two headed for the nearest armored ATV but not before loading up on ammunition. Alyx grabbed an SMG to compliment her assault rifle and trusty pistol and made sure her kris was in its sheath at her side. Theta on the other hand went for an RPG-7. A nearby soldier pulled the two aside before they could get their gear on the ATV. The man looked pale as a ghost as he led them to a nearby monitor explaining that he thought Theta deserved the first look at what they were dealing with.

Alyx watched as Ressian's quick moving black shadow appeared on the monitor darting quickly over the dangerous hopper mines that surrounded the base's East Wall. The sight that found her eyes next stole the fight from her bones. Despite the numerous modifications she recognized the mechanical canine immediately as it appeared on screen storming through the hoppers without care for the scorch marks and dents appearing in its armor as it did. The monstrosity then tore directly into a defense patrol knocking aside Resistance soldiers with impunity.

"Dog," Alyx said breathlessly, "What have they done to you?"

"You know that monster?" the private asked with eyebrows raised, Alyx cut him an angry glare that made him tense up as if ready to be hit.

"Of course," Theta said realizing the connection, "The one from your memories, the one you told me about the first time we met, who was there in the swamp."

"They can't get away with this," Alyx spat grabbing the RPG that Theta had set down and strapping it into place on the back of the ATV.

"Are you sure you want to fight?" Theta asked.

"They're right outside the walls for Christ sake," the private said, "They're tearing our men apart if we don't do something."

"I'll fight," Alyx said revving up the engine, "Now get on."

Julian rushed out of the main gate half expecting to find the area covered with Combine. Nearly a hundred soldiers had been rallied, awakened from their slumber before the sun even crested the horizon, to deal with this threat. Julian scratched his head as he made each pre-dawn shadow his home. He sprinted silently toward the action, a rising cloud of smoke and the sound of gunfire leading the way.

Why would all this be necessary for one Combine assassin? Sure Ressian was a threat but Julian was confident that a few dozen gun toting soldiers would be able to handle her. The men of Hunter's Fall were renown for their skills and some had even served in the battle that had put City 12 in Resistance control years back. As the young assassin neared the battle he began to realize why such a high alert had been raised within the base. His mind flooded with emotions as he watched the seven remaining soldiers try to outrun the hulking terror that Dog had become. Did Alyx know of this?

Julian pulled out his XM-8 realizing just how unprepared he'd come. He'd armed himself thinking the Maldragon assassin had arrived with a few Combine Overwatch and her own dark steel sword. His sword was forged of the same dark blue steel apparently made from materials unobtainable on Earth. The assassin drew that sword now and started in toward the metal behemoth but his vision was drawn away to a quick moving blur on the edge of his sight. He stopped and darted off toward it confirming that it was indeed Ressian. The alien assassin stopped and looked at him, her mandibles crossing in a sort of sickly smile as she drew her sword.

"So you decided to deliver yourself to me," she snickered.

"What did you do to Dog?" Julian asked holding his sword out defensively while trying to think of a strategy, any strategy, that could get him past her sword, behind her.

"War Hound is a creation of mine," Ressian boasted, "I merely saw what could be beneath that pathetic husk."

The alien attacked first swinging in low for Julian's knees, the assassin sliced high but the hardened exoskeleton of Ressian's elbow caught the blow and deflected it harmlessly. The blow stung Ressian more than she would admit and certainly more than she would visibly react to. The Dark Xenian steel from which the swords were forged was almost enough to slice through her protective exoskeleton. She came on strong with spry speedy attacks that drove the assassin back defensively. Julian had no room to counter attack and no time even if he had the space. The dense trunks of the trees seemed to swallow the combatants as they danced deeper into the forest.

The assassin was in trouble for while his opponent had yet to land a single blow he was sure that if and when he found the opportunity his attacks would count for little. That was the secret of the Maldragon swordsmen, the near invincibility of their armored shell. Physical superiority pretending to be hiding vulnerably behind a blade.

Julian extended his hidden blades using all three in conjunction as he went on the offensive . Each of the blades were each eighteen inches long though he could scarcely get that close to the quick handed alien assassin. The darkness of the pre-dawn seemed to be his greatest ally for despite her massive insect like eyes and background as an assassin the alien's eyesight seemed lessened in the shadows. So Julian fell into instinct as they struggled beneath the shadows of the tree tops.

Ressian was no fool, she sensed this strategy even before the assassin spun around to her backside and attempted to strike at her vestigial wing plates. It was the one place her species was truly vulnerable, the one place the human assassin could have delivered a death blow. But the alien was too quick and was just as instinctive as the human even with her impaired eyesight. She spun on Julian launching several attacks meant to keep the assassin at bay but in the exchange she knew she'd hit him at least once.

Julian fell back feeling the pain shooting through his shoulder. He put pressure on the wound feeling his blood rush over his hand. He was on the defensive soon, keeping the alien's attacks at bay, the strike of steel on steel sending sparks flying illuminating the dark as they fought. Suddenly Julian was falling over, tackled by the alien assassin who, as soon as she returned to her feet, darted away. At first Julian thought to chase after her but he soon realized her deception and found himself staring down at a small explosive device stuck to the chest plate of his HEV suit.

Alyx felt anger overwhelming her sadness as she stepped off the ATV. They were still a good distance away from the towering animal that had once served as her kind and benevolent watchdog. Now he shot pulse rounds from his gauntlet and tore Resistance soldiers apart with his bare hands. Several other soldiers had arrived with them and they too stood with trepidation and fear eyeing War Hound before finally lifting their weapons and charging bravely into battle.

"You don't have to do this," Theta protested watching as Alyx grabbed the RPG from the back of their vehicle.

"I can't let him do these things," she said with sadness crackling in her voice, "sometimes you gotta put a bad dog down."

Theta watched as the tears began streaming from Alyx's eyes. Alyx shouldered the RPG and walked headlong toward the monster. Explosions rocked the battlefield, bullets flew by impacting uselessly against War Hounds seemingly impenetrable armor. Alyx felt the weight in each step and despite all the noise of the fight around her all she could hear was her own heart pounding in her ears as if begging her not to go through with it. She watched as her beloved companion picked up a nearby ATV and threw it at three soldiers, two of them were crushed beneath the weight, the third escaped only to be hit by pulse rounds from War Hound's gauntlet gun.

It had to be done she knew. She seemed fearless, almost insane to those around her, she was so close to the monstrous robot. Dog turned to regard her, it's cracked eye lens forcing it to dialate it's orange pinhole pupil to regard her fully. War Hound lifted it's gauntlet and let out an eerie metallic howl that sent pulsing waves of anguish through Alyx's body. She fired the RPG at a nearly dangerous range. War Hound lifted it's plates to shield itself as the grenade impacted and shrapnel cut into the bots impressive armor. It howled in rage but Alyx was already on the move and loading another rocket.

Theta grabbed a nearby assault rifle from a fallen soldier and fired off a grenade launcher round to distract the beast from its target. The tactic worked just long enough to let Alyx finish reloading but also just long enough for the bot to send a pulse round down range. It impacted Theta's abdomen just as the rocket left Alyx's RPG. The rocket soared through the air finding it's way to War Hound's chest. Heat and tearing force pulled at the bot's chestplate breaking apart its armor coating and riddling it's innards with shrapnel. War Hound was still on his feet though and Alyx, expecting plenty of resilience from her old friend, was already loading up another rocket.

War Hound turned his attention to Alyx now allowing several of the other nearby soldiers to fire off grenade launcher rounds. Alyx noted that War Hound seemed to be slowing down and each grenade that burst near enough his chest was likely doing serious concussive damage, along with allowing shrapnel to tear apart his inner workings. He was firing at her now with his pulse gauntlet on full tilt, somehow the trees managed to provide the cover she needed though several of them fell down due to the sheer amount of rounds per minute Dog was turning out. Even with the concerted efforts of more than a dozen soldiers trying to bring him down and distract him Dog was still catching up to her.

She turned the final corner trying to thread the RPG between several trees that lie between her and War Hound. The beast growled but now its growling seemed hauntingly pained, as if it knew it's time was near. She fired anyway steeling herself from any remorse that might overwhelm her. The rocket fled the RPG and miraculously managed to miss the trees. It struck the lower edge of the whole in his chest digging itself well in as it detonated. Alyx began reloading with tears in her eyes as Dog fell to the ground. This dark wraith of her former friend struggled to stand, it's plaintive howls sounding all but identical to those Dog made the day that Eli died. A well placed grenade from a nearby soldier finished the beast which collapsed to the ground in a lifeless heap. Alyx had no time to mourn her friend however. Her feet carried her quickly to Theta.

"Get a medic out here," Alyx demanded feeling somewhat relieved to find that Theta was still alive.

"Alyx," Theta struggled to say coming in and out of consciousness.

"Hold on, you'll be alright" Alyx assured her, "I'm not going to loose both of my best friends today."

Julian cursed himself for not being quick enough to catch up the alien as he surged through the corridors and buildings of Hunter's Fall. He'd been forced to first remove the explosive device from his HEV suit before pursuing her. Luckily Ressian had infiltrated far from unopposed and despite her stealthy movement through the complex she'd left a trail of injured witnesses. Resistance soldiers directed him as he followed her into the personal quarters of the officers and scientists. He found her standing at the door to his bed chamber holding Allison by her hair.

"Enough games," Ressian demanded, "The Apple or the bitch dies."

"She's pregnant," Julian tried to argue.

"You think my species cares about the young of your species?" Ressian laughed coldly.

Julian felt fear course through him especially when he saw what was behind Ressian. Julian tried to shout a warning to the man to stop but it was too late. Cheng had the Apple above his head clutched with both hands. The scientist had his eyes closed as if he though it would assist in his concentration. An orange and gold light seemed to wrap the alien then. Allison was released and leapt to Julian's side as Cheng forced the alien assassin into the air and began bashing her into the walls with the Apple's psychic energy.

"Stop Cheng!" Julian shouted, "It'll drain your strength! You'll be an old man!"

Cheng did stop but not of his own accord. Fatigue shot through his body as the battered alien fell to the floor. Julian knew that she was only stunned, he took out his sword and rushed in. Before Ressian could react Julian had pried his dark steel blade into the hinges of her wing plates. Up he stabbed rending apart the soft inner flesh of the Maldragon's body until the cold steel of his blade emerged from her grotesque mouth. Strange creamy blood oozed from her mandibles as Julian wrenched the blade around inside her for maximum damage.

"Treacherous assassin!" Ressian cried though her words were hardly understandable.

The alien struggled to get free wrapping his arms around trying to grab at the assassin. The strength was leaving her arms though and soon her already black eyes grew cold. Her body stopped twitching a few moments later and Julian removed the sword allowing her body to clang against the cold steel floor of the corridor.

"Is she dead?" Allison asked as Julian turned the body over and began slicing at her neck determined to remove her head and be sure that she wouldn't be coming back.

"The bitch is dead," Julian assured her, "Check Cheng."

"How is she doc?" Alyx asked the medic who was tending to Theta's wound.

"She'll be alright," the medic replied with a grin, "The bullet had to pass through her body armor, absorbed most of the impact. If it hadn't been for that the bullet would have torn clear through organ tissue. Instead it was just a few centimeters beneath the skin."

"You saved my ass out there," Alyx said kissing Theta.

"Ooo... does that mean your ass belongs to me now?" Theta asked returning the kiss with ten times the passion, "You were great out there and I promise my science team will do what it can to get Dog back, whatever the Combine did, it can be reversed."

"I hope you're right," Alyx said with a sad smile watching as Theta tried to stand, "You sure she's alright Doc?"

"She's fine," the medic assured, "I wouldn't recommend much action anytime soon."

"Commander Theta," a soldier said interupting the conversation, the man, in his early thirties, wore an expression of worry a mile wide, "We've got a problem."

"What is it soldier?" Theta asked grabbing her assault rifle as if ready to get right back out there.

"Dropships Inbound Commander," the soldier stuttered with fear in his voice, "Dozens of them."


	17. Chapter 17: Overwatch Inbound

Chapter Seventeen: Overwatch Inbound

Julian rushed into the medical bay towards Alyx and Theta. Despite her injuries Theta was already up on her feet coordinating the defenses of the soon to be besieged base. The Combine had not yet arrived and even when they did they would have soldiers to contend with. Hunter's Fall had a fairly small fighting force compared to some Resistance facilities but it still had several hundred soldiers and fortified walls to keep Overwatch out long enough to evacuate the civilians. Theta was barking into a communicator about doing just that, trying to get convoys organized when a young man, clearly a messenger of some sort, tried to interrupt her.

"What is it soldier?" Theta snapped and the man seemed to loose his train of thought and stutter over his words, "Spit it out dammit!"

"Scouts returned commander... there's well over five hundred that have landed so far and more. We've counted half a dozen Striders, almost a dozen Hunters and Hunter-Choppers headed this way."

"Do you have any good news?" Theta asked with a resigned sigh.

"No Commander," the soldier replied to the rhetorical question, "Dropships continue to land... We might be able to hold on if we all stand and fight, and I mean arm the civilians as well."

"What do you think Julian?" Theta asked as she realized he'd been listening.

"I think they've come for this," Julian said holding up the Apple, "Ressian was here for it. My guess is these guys are a Combine insurance policy."

"Why do they want it so badly?" Theta asked as Julian tossed her the sphere for her to examine, "I've heard stories of their power but they seem awfully desperate to get this one in particular. What makes it different from the others?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," Julian remarked, "From what you and Allison have both remembered I know the Apple played a part at the Temple. The Combine have known that my family has guarded the Pieces of Eden, they know I have my Father's chest of armor and weapons but time and time again it comes back to the Apple."

"Of course," Theta seemed to whisper.

She ran her hands over the cool metallic surface feeling the strange eerie energy of the device coursing from its core into her body. Desperately she tried to access the memories that were hidden from her. She tried to remember what made the device so important that her Father and his team were sent into the jungle to recover it from the Starseed Temple. The world around her seemed to fall away as she stared into the golden likeness of the sphere basking in the glow of its power. Almost like second nature her hands began to turn the metal along several carved grooves in it's surface. Golden light seemed to shoot from it as each turn was made. With no conscious idea what she was doing Theta twisted and turned until a brilliant flash of light forced her eyes to shut.

As the moment of panic passed she opened her eyes, they all did, to see a map of the Earth. It was holographic and hovering above the sphere. Every so often the map was marked with a golden luminescent dot.

"I've seen this map before," Julian admitted, "When I was put in the Animus by the Combine. Altair, my ancestor, he's seen this map."

"But they haven't seen this one," Theta said twisting the metallic sphere once more, the map seemed to shift color in the spectrum from gold to bright blue. Now blue dots marked areas of the continents of Earth.

"My Father told me that the Gold map marks the location of the Pieces of Eden," Julian remarked studying the unfamiliar azure projection of Earth.

"Then what the hell does the blue map mark?" Alyx pondered finally finding a place to join the conversation.

"The Temples," Theta gasped pointing to a dot that looked like it was in Laos, "where they kept the Starseed crystals, the ones my Father collected in the jungle!"

"The same crystals that caused the Resonance Cascade at Black Mesa," Alyx added.

"The Combine must want the crystals," Julian said connecting the dots, "But for what?"

"They could be trying to recreate the cascade," Alyx said, "Or worse, they could use the energy from the crystals in a more focused way, possibly to create a super portal."

"Super portal?" Theta echoed in confusion.

"We can't let them get these crystals," Julian said taking the Apple from Theta, "We-."

"We have to do more than that," Allison interrupted and all eyes went to her, she looked exhausted, disheveled and tired "We have to get the crystals ourselves."

"You look awful," Alyx said with eyes wide.

"I've been in the Animus," she admitted, "I've been remembering. The Starseed crystals were a source of power for the gods... If the Combine get a hold of the crystals a super portal will be the least of our worries."

"What do you suggest?" Julian asked.

"I suggest we go get the crystals and use them against the Combine in any way we can," Allison replied, "Even without the Apple it's only a matter of time before they put someone in the Animus with an ancestor that knows where the Temple is."

Shephard listened as the whirr of the Animus slowed to a halt and the screen retracted from in front of his eyes. He could hear the steps of the Combine guards as they approached but his eyes had not yet woken from the past. Images of ancient assassins and struggles for power on a world stage centuries old flashed before his aching eyes as they lifted him from the Animus. He could scarcely walk at first but soon he found his footing and his vision began to return to him.

He'd only done a few sessions but each session was at least eight hours. That long in the Animus's had already proved damaging to his mind though he still hoped that damage wouldn't be permanent. As far as he could tell nothing he'd learned had truly been useful to the Combine. They'd spent several hours visiting an ancient ancestor of his who was a Templar that defected and became an assassin for a brief time. Several more hours were wasted exploring the memories of his grandfather serving in the Korean War.

His most recent session had once again returned to that Templar defector in the 16th century. Briefly Shephard had come in contact with Ezio Auditore, a man he knew to be the ancestor of Desmond Miles. It brought the General little comfort knowing that he'd been acquainted with one of Desmond's ancestors. It mostly served to remind him that his best friend was gone, that City 12 had fallen and that the chances were slim that Shephard would ever leave there alive. Even worse were the prospects for a once free humanity. The hope that a refuge like City 12 gave to all those who resisted the Combine was without measure. With City 12 gone and it's children, soldiers and citizens in chains or worse things did not look good for the future of the once proud human race.

Shephard stumbled into his cell and listened as the massive steel door shut and bolted behind him. He slumped onto the slab of metal protruding from the wall that served as his bed. He lay there wallowing half-dreaming half-remembering as images flashed before his mind. A light seemed to be emanating from somewhere in the room. He wondered if his mind was truly that far gone as he opened his eyes to see Desmond Miles standing before him.

"What do you want?" Shephard groaned as he struggled to sit up. He rubbed his eyes hoping the phantom would vanish before them.

"I want to know why you're such a pathetic mess," Desmond replied, "I want to know why you've given up."

"I didn't give up," Shephard retorted, "We lost. I lost."

"Are you dead?" Desmond asked and Shephard shook his head, "Are you broken in spirit?"

"No," Shephard replied slamming his fists against the steel as his voice became more and more angry and more and more loud, "No goddamn it! I WANT TO KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THESE FUCKING COMBINE SCUM!"

"Than you have not lost," Desmond replied.

Shephard felt his fists relax as tears came streaming down his face. He wasn't broken. He couldn't allow himself, ever, no matter the bleak circumstances, to let the smoldering embers of hope ever truly die out. As he wiped his eyes he watched the phantom of his oldest friend fade from being. He half expected Combine soldiers to come pouring through that door having heard what he said but as the minutes ticked by none came. Adrian Shephard lay in his cell chasing sleep, haunted by memories and waiting with hope renewed to unleash himself on his captors.

Julian stepped out of Hunter's Fall in the HEV suit to find a full scale battle taking place. Six gangly Striders were on approach to the facility and though still fairly far away they still fired their pulse canons in the direction of the walls preferring to leave the personnel on the ground for the Hunter synths to mop up. Julian began moving towards the nearest Hunter synth, some hundred yards away and escorted by a scattered squad of Combine soldiers. The Overwatch around the Hunter were keeping their distance, likely hoping to avoid being cut to pieces by the synths flechettes. Julian took aim with his XM-8 popping the nearest Overwatch before they'd even noticed the quick moving orange-armored blur nearby. Other soldiers were up but Julian moved ahead of their bullets diving and rolling until he came up to one knee and lifted his XM-8. No round was wasted as six more Combine soldiers fell each with a red-stained hole in their helmets.

The assassin turned to the Hunter which had been trying and failing to hit him with its explosive flechettes. He unsheathed not one, but two, dark steel swords and leaped in against it head on. He swatted away its first barrage of flechettes, they sparked off of the cold Xenian steel of his blades leaving the Hunter open. Amazingly the steel cut right through one of the Hunter's legs. With his agape mouth quickly forming a smile Julian finished the Hunter by impaling it with his sword before running for cover as a Hunter-Chopper passed over head firing down toward him.

Julian had volunteered for the unenviable task of commandeering one of the choppers. The evacuation convoy of civilians had already departed Hunter's Fall leaving only a few hundred soldiers to defend the base. With few vehicles remaining in their arsenal Julian had suggested that they fly to the Starseed Temple in a Hunter-Chopper.

Something else caught the assassin's eye as the chopper turned for another pass. A group of quick moving soldiers on the very edge of his vision. These were moving too fast to be ordinary Overwatch and even at this distance Julian's sharp eyes could make out that their armor was quite different from the average Combine soldier. Julian dodged another fly-by from the chopper and scurried up a nearby tree to get a better look at the five fast moving Combine soldiers. He took out a pair of binoculars confirming what his suspicions had told him. Combine Synth-assassins.

"He's in the tree!" an Overwatch nearby cried out firing off a grenade launcher round from his MP7.

Julian was already out of the tree and on the ground running toward the small fighting force of Combine soldiers. The young assassin weaved in and out of trees before leaping up to grab hold of a branch and using that branch to swing himself feet first into the nearest soldier. Out came the assassin's silenced USP, the quarters here far too tight to use his assault rifle. He popped the first two soldiers but had to duck behind the trunk of a nearby tree to avoid being hit by the others. He popped out of cover long enough to kill a third soldier but unfortunately it was also long enough for the four remaining Overwatch to get off a few hits of their own.

Julian fell back turning into little but a shadow to their eyes as he tried to find cover. He looked down at his armor and felt pain ringing through his body. Luckily none of the bullets had made it through the HEV suit, however several had managed to hit hard enough to cause bruising and some pretty serious pain. He steeled himself against such minor injuries and listened close to the sound of the Combine pursuit, of Overwatch boots hitting grass and crunching leaves, all but drowned out by the blades of the Hunter-Chopper overhead still searching for him. He rolled out from cover placing the ten rounds he had left in his USP exactly where they needed to be. Three fell dead, the last soldier fell but was only wounded.

"Combine has been upgrading their armor," Julian remarked as he took out his sword.

"Shit," the soldier said trying desperately to get to his gun as Julian lifted the blade, the soldier said no more.

Julian climbed up another nearby tree and pulled out his binoculars. Suddenly the night air was rocked by an explosion as the Strider nearest to the Eastern Wall of Hunter's Fall blasted its pulse cannon full power. As the smoke cleared Julian could see the Synth-assassins were nearby the newly formed hole in the wall. As fast as he was Julian knew he had no chance of catching up to them on foot. The assassin saw the spotlight of the chopper through the trees and heard the blades spinning and guns firing as it approached. An almost imperceptible smile appeared on his lips.

Emil Nemico fired the secondary charge of his AR2 vaporizing two female soldiers who rose up to stop them as they entered. He ordered his team of synths to split up. He and two others went one way while another group of two split off in another direction. Resistance soldiers swarmed in from all directions but the Synth-assassins were faster than they were. Emil often didn't even have to stop to fight back, his feet were quick and his focus kept steady by an endless supply of drugs. The suit wasn't just a machine, it was part of him, it fed him performance enhancing substances, healed his wounds, if he had any, and gave him the strength of five men and the endurance of ten. In fact Emil probably would have had the Apple by now if he hadn't spent the first two hours of battle slaughtering the perimeter patrols and the first wave of Resistance soldiers.

As he rushed through the corridors and cut aside his enemies with his sword he felt a tinge of disappointment. He half hoped he'd face resistance from Julian Miles. In his former life as a Templar Emil wanted to believe that he and Miles were something like rivals but in truth he knew that Julian was a far superior fighter. Now, with the synthetic enhancements the Combine had provided, he was betting the tide of that battle to be heavily on his side.

"Could they have evacuated with it?" the Synth beside him asked, she was female and bore a Greek symbol on her chest.

"It's possible," Emil admitted, "Have our forces caught up to the convoy yet?"

"They're trying but it seems most of the Resistance left with the convoy, only about half their troops were even left here."

"Smart," Emil remarked grabbing a nearby soldier by the hair and slitting his throat slowly, "Reroute six dropships and every Hunter-Chopper to the convoy's projected location."

Julian waited for the chopper to sweep low over the trees and positioned himself just low enough in the branches to not be seen, but high enough to attempt what he was about to do. He'd stripped off the HEV suit and put his assassin robes back on hoping that his lower weight would allow him to jump higher and farther. Wishing that he could have kept the suit with him the assassin lie in wait for the choppper. It was coming in now, he took a deep breath to center himself. Then it happened, in an instant his spring-loaded legs released their energy potential sending the leaping assassin into the air. Up he rose, his eyes never leaving his target as the chopper soared through the air. His hands reached out, his fingers grasped the steel of the miniature wings that housed the chopper's missiles.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he shimmied over to the side-door and began kicking at it all the while barely hanging on as the chopper flew. Luckily the Combine inside had caught on, the co-pilot opened the side door thinking to shoot the nuisance off of their chopper. Julian had other plans and swung himself into the opened door knocking the co-pilot against the other side of the chopper. Julian's swing only narrowly put the assassin inside the chopper, his head and arms were still hanging out the open door as the Combine soldier recovered from the blow. The assassin was quicker though and soon enough the Overwatch was shooting curses as he plummeted out of the door and to the ground below.

"All Hunter-Choppers, reroute to sector 08129 Delta Charlie, the convoy may be carrying the Apple," a voice reported over the inter-com as Julian pushed the now dead pilot out of the cockpit and took his place. The assassin knew he was on a tight schedule. Chances were good that Allison and the others had already made it to the evac location in the mountains they'd selected just before he set out. Still he couldn't let the opportunity pass. His knowledge of piloting this kind of chopper was limited to a few lessons in a simulator Shephard and his Father had developed years ago in Clearwater. He managed to bring up the computerized targeting system. He raised the altitude of the chopper and dipped the nose down firing off several guided missiles at the nearest Strider. The first two impacted with little or no visible damage, but the third peeled up the top of the Strider's shell and tore up its mechanical innards. Julian opened fire with the pulse gun on the front of the chopper, the pulse rounds burrowed into the Strider quickly bringing it tumbling, slamming, into the ground.

Cheers from the soldiers on the ground went up as Julian turned the chopper back toward the city.

Theta cocked her shotgun before blowing aside another Combine Overwatch who tried to get into the room. Despite their best efforts they still hadn't made it to the evacuation location Julian had picked out before heading off to get them a ride. The Combine had infiltrated the base now and despite the fact that many soldiers had remained to defend the city things had dissolved into chaos relatively quickly. Alyx stood beside her with Allison and another Resistance soldier and the scientist Cheng taking cover behind an overturned metal table as more and more Combine soldiers attempted to break their way into the room.

There was a reason, she knew, why they wanted to get in. This room served as a hub, an entryway that splintered off into half a dozen corridors that led to medical supplies, food stores and most of their weaponry. Hunter's Fall hadn't seen any heavy duty action in a while and many soldiers had kept only secondary weapons with them at all times. With some soldiers now unable to get to their arsenal it made any possibility of victory even more remote.

"We can't stay here," Alyx said noting that Theta looked very tired, "You're exhausted and Julian won't be able to wait forever."

"I never thought this place would fall," Theta growled as she reloaded her shotgun.

"Is there an exit we can use down here?" Allison asked.

"No," Theta admitted, "We need to break through this door and push out and up. We're not far from an emergency lift, but we need to get passed all the soldiers out there."

"Shit, dive!" Alyx yelled grabbing Theta and diving behind the metal table as the sound of tearing metal and percussive explosive rocked the chamber.

Overwatch stormed into the room before the smoke had even cleared, their helmets allowing them to easily see in the smoky room. Theta popped up and fired at the swarming shadows, blood splattered through the mist as two soldiers dropped. Alyx pulled the woman down as the Overwatch began to fire.

"You'll never win that way," Alyx said pulling the pin off a grenade and chucking it to the far side of the room.

"Shit, shit, shit!" the nearest Overwatch shouted just before an explosion once again rocked the room.

"NOW!" Alyx shouted just as the loud bang turned into nothing but ringing in her ears. She pulled out her AR2 and fired off a dark energy grenade watching as it bounced from soldier to soldier clearing out five, then six, then seven, their bodies rose from the floor in an effervescent white glow and then vanished. More were already flooding into the room but as they entered Alyx and Theta mowed them down. As Theta and Alyx ducked behind the table to reload Allison and the other soldier popped out and began firing on the new wave of Combine until finally there were no more. The smoke cleared and the adrenaline wore off.

"Anyone hit?" Theta asked.

"Aye," the female soldier replied grabbing at her neck, "It's not bad. I think I'll be okay but you better leave me here."

"What about you Allison?" Alyx asked noting that she was wincing.

"I think I caught some shrapnel when the door first blew," she replied uncovering a small but fairly deep cut on her left arm, "I'll be fine. Cheng?"

"My ears are still ringing, I-" the scientist replied as Theta and Alyx checked him and found no wounds.

"I'll send a medic your way," Theta promised the female Resistance soldier as they left the room and emerged into the corridor.

"More Combine," Alyx said pointing toward the soldiers heading their way, "Where's this lift of yours?"

"Just past them. A grenade could clear out the whole lot."

"Way ahead of you," Alyx said gesturing for Allison, Cheng and Theta to find cover as she pulled the pin on another grenade. By now the Overwatch were in visual range and had begun to open fire as Alyx's grenade hit the ground and rolled to their feet. The explosion that followed sent deafening reverberations through the metallic walled corridor. It didn't matter though, soon enough they were in the lift on the way up to the surface.

"That was close," Alyx said breathing a sigh of relief.

"We should have taken that soldier with us," Theta said kicking the wall with clenched fists.

"She wanted to remain behind," Alyx countered.

"I know," Theta admitted relaxing noticeably, "I just, I've been awake for so long, and with my injuries... I'm running on pure adrenaline..."

"Mood swings," Alyx nodded lifting her pistol as the lift came to a halt and the door opened, "A little longer," she promised, "you can rest on the chopper."

"You really think that man of yours can pluck a chopper right out of the air?" Theta asked as they rushed headlong toward the mountains with the sound of enemy gunfire at their rear. Suddenly the sound of distant helicopter blades echoed through the air - Allison just turned with Theta and smiled.

They still had a good distance to go but they managed to cover it fairly quickly. Unfortunately they were being followed. Alyx had never seen Combine soldiers sporting such speed and as they neared the evacuation point and turned to face their enemies the reason became clear.

"Synth-assassins," Alyx yelled, "Can't we ever get a break?"

"You have the Apple?" Julian asked appearing in the doorway to help them in.

"I kept it safe," Cheng said sheepishly, "Well really they kept it safe."

"You did fine," Julian assured the man as he returned to the cockpit.

"Hurry," Alyx reminded him, "We were being pursued by synth-assassins."

"I was hoping you would have dealt with them," Julian joked as the chopper got off the ground, as soon as he had enough altitude he dipped the nose down and prepared to fire at the oncoming Combine assassins. He fired off the choppers remaining missiles and held in the pulse trigger. Two of the assassins fell dead. Explosions rocked the ground below felling trees as pulse rounds lit up the sky. Still the synth refused to die. Julian's eyes went wide when he saw the synthetic killer leap into the air clearing the chopper's last missile and somehow avoiding the pulse fire stream to land on the chopper's nose, "We've got a problem!"

"What?" Alyx asked but soon she saw for herself as the synth-assassin was prying his way into the chopper digging his sword around in the door while holding onto the top of the chopper with one hand. The door was open soon and Alyx fired her AR2, several bullets impacted the synth but did nothing.

"You're coming with me!" Emil yelled reaching his hands for Alyx while knocking aside Theta as she attempted to reach her shotgun.

Suddenly Emil's attention was drawn away from Alyx, away from Allison who was trying to draw a pistol from its holster, away even from Julian who he knew was piloting the chopper. The golden sphere consumed his attention as it left the man's lab coat pocket. He recognized the bumbling young man as Yin Cheng. Was Cheng trying to use the Apple against him. Emil felt the sting of pain as Alyx drew a small knife and stabbed into his armored abdomen. His synthetic armor and healing would take care of any minor wounds he knew as he reached instead for the now glowing orb. He could see in his peripheral vision that Alyx had managed to get her pulse rifle up at him - he didn't care, he was already holding the Apple, he tore it away from Cheng. Alyx fired the secondary trigger but to her terror the dark energy grenade didn't vaporize Emil's synthetic body, instead it launched him out of the helicopter and lurched the helicopter backward.

Just like that he was soaring, falling, crashing to the ground, but in his hands he was clutching the Apple of Eden.

"Cheng! What did you do?" Theta growled as Julian struggled to regain control of the spinning chopper.

"It was as much my fault as it was his," Alyx said trying to calm her, "Julian we need to go back, that synth has the Apple."

Julian shook his head to clear the dizziness as the chopper finally stabilized. He took the chopper for a low sweep of the forest braving pulse rifle fire and even flechettes fire from Hunters to search for the body of the synth-assassin. The Combine had taken Hunter's Fall entirely now, what flames of Resistance remained had been all but been completely drown out.

"We can't stay here," Julian said, "We've got limited fuel and its only a matter of time before the Striders get this far in, we won't last long against them with just our pulse cannon."

"Okay," Theta agreed. Her eyes grew sad as she watched the smoking besieged terrain that used to be Hunter's Fall grow more distant.

"Now we really do need to get to that temple first," Allison said.

Theta lay back against the wall of the chopper as Alyx and Allison struggled to get the door to close properly. She wondered if there would even be enough fuel in the chopper to get them all the way to Laos. Her thoughts soon returned to Hunter's Fall and to that abandoned soldier she left bleeding in the entryway. She'd known that woman, that soldier, Sarah Branson. Theta had often assigned her to anti-zombie patrols when the Combine would shell the area around Hunter's Fall. So many of her closest friends, her comrades, her sisters and brothers in arms, were dead now. All because of that Apple, all because of a device that was now in the hands of the enemy despite their best efforts.

Her entire life was now up in smoke, at least the parts of it she could remember. And with it went her only tool to discover her past, the Animus and the blueprints on how to build another one. The only thing she'd managed to retain was Alyx but in this situation even Alyx's olive eyes and beautiful face were small comfort amidst larger tragedy. She looked out a nearby window watching the sunset while resting her head on Alyx's shoulder. With tears in her eyes, exhausted and injured, Theta fell asleep.


	18. Chapter 18: Ontogeny

Chapter Eighteen: Ontogeny

Julian kept his sharp eyes on the horizon as the blur of the pacific ocean passed beneath the chopper. He glanced away for a moment checking the fuel gauge once more and finding himself baffled by the fact that they still had half a tank worth of fuel. They'd been flying essentially non-stop since they'd departed Hunter's Fall. The fatigue had begun to weigh on Julian in the last hour but despite his exhaustion he kept his mind alert. Thus far they'd been unmolested in their journey toward the Starseed Temple with only one sighting of a Combine vehicle and that had been a Strider that looked no bigger than an ant from their present altitude. Despite their good fortune Julian knew he would have to put down soon if for no other reason than for food and water.

"You had to forget the supplies bag didn't you?" Theta prodded at Cheng.

"Can't you see he feels bad enough?" Alyx argued shooting a critical glare in Theta's direction.

In any other moment Theta would have seen Alyx's very logical point. After all Cheng had left the supplies behind in the confusion of their flight from Hunter's Fall. The supply bag was likely still sitting behind a steel table in the hub of a room that they had been hunkered down in. In the madness of their firefight to escape that possible tomb it was hardly surprising the timid scientist had forgotten the supplies.

For Theta, though, this was not an ordinary or calm moment. Her insides roiled with anger and a boiling sea of self-loathing that she seemed ready to project onto everyone around her. She knew in her heart that it was her own failure which had brought on these mood-swings, her own inability to protect Hunter's Fall and her cowardly decision to flee rather than to sink into oblivion alongside her brave comrades. The guilt was swelling within her higher than any of the waves on the ocean surface below and for the life of her she could not cure herself of it.

As Theta grew quiet Alyx grabbed her hand and held it gently. Rather than react negatively as Alyx had expected Theta seemed unresponsive to the contact. Alyx rose a few minutes later and entered the cockpit taking up the seat beside Julian.

"Things are pretty tense back there," she remarked looking at the man for signs that he was as fatigued and distressed as the rest of them, "How are you holding up?"

"Fine," Julian replied flatly, "I've just been wondering..."

"What?" Alyx asked.

"What in the hell we plan on doing with the crystals once we get them," Julian responded, "We don't even know what we're dealing with, I mean we all know what happened when Black Mesa got hold of this stuff. We might end up doing more harm than good if we're not careful."

"Don't worry, I know a man who's handled the stuff in the past," Alyx reassured him, "You just get us to the temple."

Emil Nemico adjusted his heads up display shifting it into the infrared spectrum to detect heat. He could make out the faint heat pattern following certain grooves along the golden sphere he now had in his possession. It was as if residual heat energy had scorched the Apple but only along certain seams of the strange device. He began to twist and turn the Apple and heard it click and clack but each time he tried to solve the puzzle he found himself unable to. He sat in his room, a temporary quarters amidst the smoldering rubble of Hunter's Fall, and ran his fingers over the Apple again and again trying to decipher it's secrets to no avail. Finally in a fit of frustration he tossed the infernal thing against the wall hearing it hit the concrete floor with a heavy thud.

He knew that his business in Hunter's Fall was all but complete -the Apple was his after all. It was his, he realized then walking over to the sphere which had fallen dead rather than rolling. He picked it up and held it in his hands and then looked down at his synthetic armor. Already the stab wound he'd suffered in the chopper had healed. Indeed any and all of his wounds, even full on bullet wounds he'd sustained during the combat to take the base, had healed almost fully leaving behind only a slight residual pain and stiffness.

Despite his victory and seeming good fortune he still felt the victory hollow, watching Julian and the others fly away to some unknown location. They had not simply been fleeing the battle, he'd realized, for they could have done that with the convoy that had fled earlier. In his brief time aboard the chopper Emil had managed to place a tracking device on it thinking to follow it. Yvolslog had shot that idea down soon after he'd informed the General of his clever deed. Instead the alien beast wanted him and his group to stay there in Hunter's Fall until the General himself could hold the Apple in his tendril like appendages.

Emil felt so strange. Here he was granted power, the ability to heal, to move faster than any ordinary human warrior and yet he was forced to use these abilities in service to a cause he did not understand or agree with. On top of it all he was now holding the Piece of Eden, the Apple that had swayed both Adam and Eve. Wasn't this was Emil Nemico always dreamed of? Power and, thanks to the Piece of Eden, influence. He thought back to what General Urwel had told him after his transformation, that he had been given only the illusion of free will. Yet here he was holding the Apple with no constraints on his behavior apparent in his mind. A happy feeling grew in him as he fantasized about using the Apple to crush the slug-like General dead, or perhaps to torment him for eons, for his race were long-lived indeed.

The former Templar stepped from his room and merely looked at the nearest Combine soldier. Emil watched as the orange flames of the Apple danced around the soldier as he was lifted into the air and tossed into the nearest corridor wall at high velocity. The sickening crack of armor and bone against the wall resounded throughout the corridor bringing a similarly sickening smile to Emil's mechanical visage. Perhaps there was no way for Urwel to influence him at such distances, perhaps it was no illusion, perhaps he was now actually free.

He struggled to clear his mind of the torrent of emotions that now flooded him so that he could focus on directing the energies of the device. With a powerful march he walked out into the ruins of Hunter's Fall and lifted the Piece of Eden high. In uniform fashion all the nearest Combine soldiers swayed their heads in his direction and one-by-one fell into formation around him bowing their heads as if they looked upon a god, With a soaring elation burning inside him Emil Nemico focused on the other Synth assassin's hoping to similarly influence their minds as well. To his amazement even their mechanically inclined mental faculties bent to his will and were soon kneeling beside the others. Emil turned to the Strider's and Hunters thinking for sure that they too would be immune to his controlling influence. Yet soon the creaking towering behemoths and spry synthetic predators had gathered to his call.

"Now," Emil spoke to his enthralled throng, "You are going to do as I command."

Emil found the nearest Combine computer terminal and attuned his own HUD to it quickly bringing up a display that showed the stolen Hunter-Chopper's coordinates. As he had suspected Julian hadn't set down anywhere near City 12, or any other Resistance installations that the Combine knew about. There was the possibility, of course, of Resistance bases the Combine had no knowledge but in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? Emil Nemico felt a sharp sense of hunger for the fight ahead. He set aside his hatred for the Combine and the General that had so perversely transformed him, in fact in that moment he embraced his new self.

"Who knows General Urwel," he muttered aloud to himself as he ordered his Combine soldiers into action with a mere thought, "By the end of this I may have to thank you... before I kill you."

Julian lay basking on a beach as the last rays of the sun warmed his skin. The sound of rushing ocean water just a few dozen feet away from him created a gentle but powerful ambiance that was already working it's magic on him. He could hear the others carrying on, splashing and laughing as they played in the waves. He'd sent them off to go spear fishing even going so far to lend Allison one of his new Xenian blades. Even with his eyes shut he could hear that the blade was proving fruitless as it sliced so cleanly that the fish always slipped off of the blade after it impaled them. Between that and Alyx and Theta's continuous splashing he was quite certain that they'd probably go hungry as far as fish were concerned.

No matter, Julian thought as he drifted in the abyssal arms of sleep, there were plenty of coconuts on this deserted island.

Alyx and Theta hit the sand together laughing and rolling in a heap of Cathartic joy and pent up passion. Theta had been a brooding and angry mess, a balled up heap of guilt and self-loathing, since the battle at Hunter's Fall. The sheer intensity of her emotions had overwhelmed her but at last she'd managed to clear her mind and let other more positive emotions momentarily erase the desperation and guilt. She passionately pressed her lips to Alyx's as they rolled before Alyx finally came out on top with Theta's hands grabbed tight on Alyx's soggy bottomed jeans.

Alyx was silhouetted against the setting sun lighting her sexy olive eyes as the two reveled in the feeling of being alive after enduring so much hardship – being alive and in love. Alyx had never indulged in love, never so much as gave it a second thought despite her attraction to Gordon before he'd once again disappeared from the planet. She wasn't going to make that mistake again, she decided as she pulled off her top and let Theta lather her sweaty sea-water covered torso in kisses. Alyx felt a bit odd in so open a place though, the island had barely two dozen trees, but one glance at Allison and Julian, both asleep from sheer exhaustion, and Cheng, who was similarly slumbering propped against a tree some twenty yards away, gave her the go-ahead.

Inhibitions were out of the question here at the edge of life where any breath might be your last. As she basked in the afterglow with Theta beside her and the moon rising she marveled at how beautiful the stars truly were. Alyx felt herself reliving her life this time with no Animus required. Every memory, the bittersweet to the beautiful, flooded her in those moments. She was startled from them by the faint snoring of her mysterious lover, with a gentle kiss to Theta's lips Alyx lay her head on the sand and fell asleep.

Emil Nemico watched the last remnants of the American continent pass beneath him as they soared through the air in the Hunter-Chopper. Three Combine Gunships were in tow each one following the direct psychic commands imparted to them by the Apple. Amazingly the former Templar had not lost his concentration once since they'd departed Hunter's Fall almost fifteen hours earlier. He found himself growing fatigued however the suit was pumping a constant supply of adrenaline into him to keep him both conscious and aware. It seemed that his synthetic nature was actually allowing him to use the Apple without the drain it would have had on an ordinary man.

He'd been watching the location of Julian and the Hunter-Chopper closely following it's journey across the Pacific before the blip had mysteriously stopped. This had given the mechanical man pause and made him second guess his decision to follow after the assassin, but only briefly. Soon, he assured himself, he would have his revenge on the would-be savior of humanity and indeed upon the entire Assassin order. The Templars, he thought, would have no choice but to let him back in but this time as their leader. The Templars would take back the world and bring the human race from the brink of extinction into the fiery phoenix personified.

The sun was already setting as the shore of the Pacific Ocean became visible. Soon.

Shephard sat alone in a darkened room. It was not his ordinary cell, he knew, for despite the darkness he could sense the shape of the room and the way the air swayed despite the still silence. It was bigger, much bigger. He thought, for a moment, that he could make out the dark shapes of figures standing at the far side of the room. Guards perhaps standing in front of the door, no doubt they could see him in the darkness far better than his eyes could perceive them. Perhaps they weren't even there, he second-guessed himself, and were merely flashes of memory created by his fractured psyche. One too many Animus sessions had a way of breaking the mind in a way that even Shephard's despair could not break him.

The disgraced General sat and thought and let his thoughts try to fill the emptiness of that prison. The hollow feeling he got when his lungs took a breath was almost too much to bear. His ghostly visit from Desmond had momentarily stolen the weight of his failure from his shoulders but now, stuck in this room for hours on end without even a visit from an abusive Combine soldier, he felt truly empty. Even sadness could not find a foothold within him – he was just, indifferent.

His eyes refused to attune to that darkness and yet even then he thought he saw something moving in the shadows. At last, after six hours of darkness, a bright light flew on casting him into darkness as his eyes reflexively shut. The surprise was overwhelming and Shephard soon heard the shuffling feet and felt someone slam into him tackling him to the ground. Seemingly defenseless Shephard took blow after blow from the obviously Combine attacker as his eyes began to attune to the blinding light of the room. The blurred shape was becoming more substantial as the pain of repeated stun-baton blows to the side became more and more real.

Had this been any ordinary Resistance soldier the attack would have worked and left the soldier a defenseless victim. Adrian Shephard was never defenseless. Even as that stinging baton shocked his side he reached up his hands and grasped the armored throat of the Combine Elite tight with his strong hands. The armor wouldn't give of course but the Elite made the obvious mistake of trying to break the man's grip manually with his free hand. Shephard let go of the man's neck and grabbed quick for the weapon punching it out of the Combine soldier's hand. Once again the soldier made a mistake, he went chasing after the lost baton instead of continuing with his fists. Shephard grabbed the man from behind and brought him down hard to the steel floor of the cell. The General then slammed his elbow with all his weight into the back of the soldier's head until he heard the Combine visor snapping and the grunts of agony from the now clearly wounded soldier. Shephard continued slamming the Elite into the ground even as a puddle of blood formed around his head.

"Combine piece of shit," Shephard spat.

Only then did the General become aware of the six other Elites in the room each just on the fringes of darkness. These, however, were not wearing helmets, they had faces, familiar faces. Shephard recognized each one of them as soldiers he had trained, known or fought beside in his time at City 12. They were the brave defenders, the warrior citizens, those he believed unbreakable. Here they were broken before him, taken and reshaped into something obedient and horrible by the Combine. He'd seen this type of soldier before of course, it was something the Combine was more and more commonly doing as their mind-control techniques improved. Still as they advanced on Shephard with batons at the ready he could see their faces twitch as if some internal conflict remained within them. Perhaps it was just his imagination but he could have sworn he saw one mouthing "kill me, please" just before he lunged at Shephard.

Shephard knew that this was all being done to break him, to drive him further into the Abyss of despair, to force him to give up information that would be useful to the Combine. They underestimated Adrian Shephard. He would kill all six of these soldiers if he had to and while he would be lying if he said it didn't hurt him to do so he would also be lying if he claimed that death was worse a fate than what these six had suffered.

Shephard felt the shock of those horrid batons but the true sting was in having utterly failed these six men, five men, he realized as the last soldier stepped fully from the shadows. Shephard nearly gave up at the sight he beheld, the sickening turn of his stomach mimicked the flip-flops his mind was going through at that moment. Surely no one as strong-willed as her could ever be turned against him. He could not deny the simple truth of who was in front of him though. He managed to get to his feet as the zombie-like remnant of General Amber Cartwright charged toward him with a mix of bloodlust and confusion on her once indomitable face. A wave of revulsion, of absolute hatred for the Combine, shot through him like a bolt of lightning as he dodged her baton and launched a devastating right hook into the side of her head.

"You deserve better than this!" he shouted in frustration as they all came on, "You deserve better than me!"

Julian awoke with a start sensing instinctively that he was now moving. His eyes darted to and fro and his hands instinctively went one to his sword and one to his silenced USP. He found himself huffing and puffing deep sighs of relief when he realized that he was aboard the Hunter-Chopper with Cheng, and Allison beside him. Alyx was flying the chopper and following the map they'd drawn up in their haste. Theta was in the co-pilot chair. Julian noted how her expression had changed so drastically in so short a time. He was happy that she had found a connection and one that seemed to go back to her very earliest memories, memories unlocked by the Animus.

The assassin turned his almond eyes to Cheng who looked quite nervous sitting there grasping his seatbelt tightly.

"Kinda makes you wonder doesn't it?" Julian asked the man.

"What?" The man inquired as it being startled out of deep thought.

"Why the Combine put harnesses in these damn things," Julian joked, "Do they really care about safety?"

Cheng simply shrugged. The safety protocols of the Combine Empire were about as far from his mind as possible.

"I'm sorry," Cheng said absently, "I failed to keep the Apple safe."

"I trust that you did manage to keep the others safe," Julian asked and Cheng's eyes lit up and a smile at last emerged on the man's face.

"The Chest, yes, buried deep in a bunker," Cheng remembered, "Though I don't know that we will ever be able to recover it after the Combine are through at Hunter's Fall."

"As long as the Combine can't get their hands on it," Julian said.

"They'll never know it's there," Cheng assured him, "The Auditore family secret will be buried beneath Hunter's Fall until we care to dig it up."

"Land!" came a shout from the cock-pit, "but we're running pretty low on fuel."

"We could always procure more local transportation," Julian theorized.

"Does the Resistance even stretch to this part of the world?" Allison found herself asking.

"If not I'm sure the Combine does," Julian replied with a smirk, "They'd be glad to provide us with a new vehicle, or maybe just some more fuel."

Emil Nemico knew he was catching up to the assassin and his little band of rebels. The synthetic assassin had left behind the Drop-ship and all the soldiers he'd originally brought with him and was now clinging the top of a gunship. These synthetic creatures were far easier to control with the Apple than he'd initially thought and the squad of soldiers he'd had with him had been particularly hard to keep control of for such a long period of time. With this synth Emil found he could even go into a sort of sleep-mode and still maintain his telepathic link. He'd been flying without pause and the Pacific Ocean was now gone from beneath him.

The infamous blip of Julian's Hunter-Chopper was now no more than a hundred miles ahead of his position. Emil shut most of his brain functions off trying to bide his strength. He knew that the assassin had a sort of resistance to the Apple and that when he at last engaged Julian in combat it would likely come down to who was the better warrior, the man born an assassin or the man built as one.

Despite their initial clumsy attack the six former Resistance soldiers gathered around Shephard in a more organized fashion now. Their batons came in one or two at a time as if testing his ability to defend. Shephard had little real defense other than to try to stay out the way which was becoming increasingly hard as they herded him from place to place in the squalid cell. Three of them lashed out at once then, two from the front and one he heard coming in from behind. Shephard tried to hunch down and back himself into the soldier behind him thinking that he might hoist that one into the other two with the help of that soldier's momentum. No such luck, the soldier dead stopped and side-stepped Shephard's backward tackle and jabbed his baton into the General's ribs. Shephard felt his muscles shudder as his body was wracked with pain.

The other two who had rushed his front didn't stop, they too hit his body with their batons. Shephard grabbed the one by the shoulders and shrugged off the pain as he hurled that one into the others. At least he could physically overpower them, he thought, as they picked themselves up off the floor. Then he saw the beaten and broken General Cartwright amble toward him with a snarl on her face. All of a sudden all five rushed him and shoved in their batons driving him to his knees where General Cartwright slammed her foot into his face and laid him low.

Shephard got up a few seconds later even though they'd surrounded his form with their batons at the ready. He leaped at the nearest one who side-stepped him, but that soldier wasn't the target, the corpose of the first soldier he'd killed was. Shephard grabbed the corpse and lifted him over his head tossing the dead Elite at the six friends. In desperation Shephard ran for the baton that he'd knocked from the hand of the first soldier, it was in the darkest farthest corner of the large rectangular room but he finally found it and snapped it into his hands. His enemies were fast on the approach and to his surprise seemed undaunted, even uninterested, in the fact that he now held a weapon. Indeed this was born out by his first strike, which, despite offering a good five second shock to the face of the nearest soldier, did little or nothing.

Shephard gave up on the electricity of the device after that and instead focused on using it as a club. It hurt him gravely to have to bludgeon some of his former soldiers, and Amber Cartwright one of his dearest friends, but their heads were the only thing exposed to danger. It was done intentionally, he knew, just to break him. Adrian Shephard was broken only in the sense that the situation had stirred his ire against the Combine a hundred times more. He found himself bashing in the skull of one of the soldiers only a few seconds later.

He felt the shocking power of the batons of the other five but ignored it. He was feral now, possessed of only anger, an indomitable rage that had surged to fill the emptiness within him. It was that same rage he'd shown Desmond's ghostly in his cell. He bashed aside one soldier with a powerful shoulder ignoring the contact of that enemy's baton as he delivered a punch to the armored belly of the next soldier. He swung around to meet Amber's attack from the rear knocking aside her head and drawing a loud CRACK sound as he hit her as hard as he could. She lurched to the side and he pursued her catching her in his arms and watching in her dying breaths as an expression of relief grew on her familiar face.

With that expression burned permanently into his mind, and anger without end burning within him Shephard stood to face the other four.

"Come then," he demanded, "I shall set you all free."

Even with the rays of the dawning sun not yet cresting the horizon Julian's eyes could make out the shapes in the trees head. The familiar silhouettes of Combine soldiers on patrol. He knew not how far they were from the nearest Combine base but from their brief aerial survey of the area this seemed the only Combine outpost for miles of unending Siamese jungle. They were, however, fairly close to what used to be known as Laos and that meant the location of the Starseed temple.

Rather than putting the chopper down nearby the assassin had been dropped off in the canopies of the trees several miles from the Combine outpost. He'd encountered two patrols including the one he was now watching. The Combine Empire had long arms indeed to be this deep into the jungle. Julian had to wonder if there were even citizens to corral out here or if the Combine might be this far out due to Resistance activity. The idea of Resistance this far away from the nearest Citadel made a smile appear on Julian's lips.

The assassin listened close as the ground began to rumble gently. With silent feet he climbed the nearest tree to catch sight of the approaching vehicle. He was pleased to see a a jeep come rolling around a bend in the jungle-trail with two Overwatch in the seat and a mounted gun in the back. Apparently the Combine out here were left with some more indigenous technology, he'd already noted several wielding M4s and M16s rather than AR2s and MP7s. There were twelve in this patrol in all. Only twelve.

Julian used the remaining shadow of the early morning to his advantage as he flanked around the back of the patrol's temporary encampment. At least three of the soldiers were still asleep, at least four of them were merely in Civil Protection armor rather than the standard Overwatch. He slipped behind the camp following one soldier who seemed to be collecting firewood. Firewood? Julian found himself wondering if Combine soldiers got cold at night as he slipped behind this one and stabbed through his armor with one of his gauntlet blades. He couldn't muffle the soldier's screams of course but he noted that the voice of Overwatch dispatch didn't alert the others as well. Were these Combine soldiers off the grid? Were they, perhaps, rebels?

Julian had little time to question his decision to attack when the other soldiers rushed toward the screams of their companion. He slipped into the shadows but knew that, at least for the advanced optics of the Overwatch, the shadows would only do him so much good. He pulled out his silenced USP and flanked around the jeep which was now abandoned save one soldier who had the hood up and was peering down at the engine. Julian fired off a shot at the soldier's head amazed when the Overwatch didn't drop immediately.

"He's over he-" the soldier managed to blurt with a fair amount of volume before catching on to the fact that he had a bullet to the brain.

Julian thought to leap into the jeep and drive off then but the remaining ten Combine were already upon him firing their weapons. How Julian wished he'd kept the HEV suit in those moments of cowering behind the jeep. He saw a solution however and pulled a grenade from the Combine soldier's corpse tossing it in the direction of the nearest enemy. The resounding thud sent dust everywhere and woke every jungle animal that was still asleep. Birds and beasts of all kinds cried out and Julian dove into the jeep grateful that the grenade wasn't the only thing of use he'd looted from the corpse as he turned the key and drove off into the jungle.

Emil Nemico watched the Hunter-Chopper carefully searching for any signs of the assassin and his friends. For nearly twenty minutes he kept his eyes transfixed on the area focusing his enhanced vision on every shadow and every crevice as the sun began to peak over the horizon. When at last he was satisfied that they had abandoned the chopper he stepped off of the gunships back and bid the creature farewell. He knew that being stranded in the jungle wasn't ideal but the strain of keeping the synthetic flying-machine under his power had become too much for the synth-assassin. He hadn't the strength to both catch up to and kill Julian Miles and keep the gunship under his power. Besides, he told himself, it seemed as if Julian and the others were now on foot.

The prints were faint for the assassin, almost non-existent, but the others would prove much easier to track. He found their footfalls soon enough and began to follow their path with his feet moving almost faster than he could discern their trail. He could almost taste the vengeance that was at hand. In that moment he wondered if he would ever experience the sensation of taste again. It would be worth it, he told himself, the entire transformation, every decision, every mistake, every right or wrong turn, all of it had led to this. All of his struggle in City 12 to gain prevalence amongst the Templars, amongst the soldiers and citizens that fought for freedom. His failed rise to power just before the invasion of City 12. His capture and metamorphosis from man into machine. All of it would culminate in him becoming the savior of humanity, the leader of humanity, the god of humanity.

He found their camp thirty minutes later near to a brown-green rushing river. He stood on a rocky outcropping on a ridge above the river but his eyes could see their heat signatures. The assassin was absent, he noted as he scouted their camp, he realized that they were likely seeking new transportation. The only road, more of a trail really, was some hundred yards from their riverside camp and although there was no guarantee Julian would arrive by land vehicle Emil decided to await the assassin in the trees just above the road. Once again he felt a smug smile emerging on what might be considered his mouth. That feeling left him when he heard the familiar song of bullets whizzing past him. He dared to look down at the camp and saw Alyx Vance crouched with her machine-gun aimed up at the ridge.

"I should have pulled you out of the chopper with me," Emil spat as he grasped the Apple tight, "But no matter, none of you stand a chance."

Emil held the Apple high and tried to sway their minds to serve him. Unlike the Combine who had bent so easily to his will however none of them seemed ready to bow before him. Cheng, the scientist he'd once manipulated, did stumbled forward toward the ridge but Cheng wasn't as strong-willed as the others and also wasn't strong enough to use to kill the others. Emil abandoned the idea of controlling them and began dodging bullets as Alyx's pulse rounds drew dangerously close. Emil wasn't sure how she managed to be so accurate with those things, he'd never liked them in any but close quarters situations. He slipped down the ridge from tree to tree and boulder to boulder until he was sure they'd lost sight of his rapidly moving form.

He focused his energy watching as Alyx was lifted into the air. She struggled to get free but it was of little consequence. Emil thought he might crush her then and there. As a display of power he concentrated on her weapon which, even with his ocular enhancements, at this distance were but a dot. He grabbed the gun and pulled it from her tenacious grasp crushing it's steel frame into a ball with but a thought. Emil knew the others were searching for him but he cared little, he could stop them too. A rush of godlike power coursed through him as he reached out for Allison, the only other one who stood near enough to Alyx to be visible. The need for line of sight frustrated him but it was a limitation he would have to live with as he levitated both women helplessly into the air.

Arrogantly Emil Nemico stepped from cover and walked casually into their camp. Soon he stood just beneath Alyx and Allison.

"You shouldn't have interfered," Emil said in his metallic voice, "My quarrel was with the assassin."

"I am an Assassin," Alyx replied proudly.

"Trained by them perhaps," Emil said waving his hand dismissively, "but not one of them."

"What does the Combine want with us?" Cheng asked thinking he might negotiate on the behalf of the helpless women.

"It's not what the Combine wants anymore," Emil shouted, "It's what I want!"

With that he brought Cheng down into a bow forcibly.

"I am your god," he told Alyx and Allison, "kneel before me!"

Emil heard the footsteps behind him but he kept his attention focused on Alyx and Allison. He made them believe that Theta's surprise attack would indeed maintain the element of surprise before he turned around and, with orange flames covering her body, sent her slamming into a nearby tree. She wasn't dead, he knew, he hadn't planned on killing her, instead she was merely knocked out.

"You sick bastard!" Alyx growled as she squirmed. For her insolence Emil sent her too against the same tree and she fell in an unconscious heap on top of Theta.

"Now," Emil remarked to Allison, "You and I are going to have some fun until your little boyfriend comes back."

Emil brought Allison's beautiful face in close to his mechanical visage with malicious intent growing even more sinister as the seconds elapsed. His attention was drawn away by a sound, a distant rumble that he knew was that of an engine. He thought that perhaps it was Julian come to spoil their fun but as the vehicle, a jeep marked with clear Combine markings, rounded the nearest bend he could make out only a solitary Combine soldier as the driver, an Overwatch. The soldier came to a stop and seemed puzzled at the scene he had come upon.

"I'm a bit busy at the moment officer," Emil joked resisting the urge to kill this soldier for interrupting him.

"I'm sorry sir," the soldier apologized in a muffled voice, "I'm part of a patrol that was attacked."

"Attacked?" Emil asked his mind thrilled by the possibility of news of the assassin's whereabouts, "By whom?"

"I barely saw the guy, I've never seen someone move this fast, he was wearing this strange robes... somehow I managed to get a shot off and drop the stupid bastard but not before he took out my whole team."

At that announcement Emil took the risk of dropping Allison to the ground and releasing the Apple's grasp. He felt a sense of weakness, fatigue, as Allison fell, as though using the Apple for so long with barely any intervals of rest had stressed even his enhanced body to it's limits. Still if the assassin was dead Emil could move on to part two of his mission, becoming the savior of humanity to replace Julian and his Assassin Order.

"Show me the body," Emil demanded.

The Combine soldier climbed into the back of the jeep and uncovered the body dressed in full assassin robes. As he neared the jeep the deception became evident but by that time it was already too late. Julian, disguised as the Combine soldier, was already firing off the mounted gun. Emil didn't know how many hit him, a dozen, perhaps two dozen rounds, before he managed to half-stumble half-sprint to safety. He tried to use the Apple to enact revenge on Julian, on Alyx, on any of them, nut Julian's fire kept him suppressed as he slinked off into the jungle licking his wounds.

How had he fallen for so obvious a trick? Emil cursed himself as he hid behind three very large boulders half way up the ridge. His synthetic blood ran free of his body. He wasn't sure if it was due to his use of the Apple or merely the amount of damage that heavy machine gun had done but he felt far too weak to retaliate. He listened as Julian sped off in the jeep with the unconscious Theta and Alyx, his beloved Allison and the scientist Cheng.

"I am a god," Emil growled, "I'm better than this."

They were all dead, their faces finally no longer haunting him, their lives of torment at last at an end. Shephard sat in a crumbled heap half laughing half weeping on the floor of the cell with six of his friends dead at his hands. The guards, the real guards, entered then and from the way they brandished their guns they appeared to expect a fight. Shephard had none to give them.

He'd already fought for them. He'd already given them exactly what they wanted, a fight, a bloody battle against his former allies turned against their will into mortal enemies. As they dragged the General back to his cell he continued to laugh and tears continued to stream down his face. Let them try to break him, he would just hate them all the more. His friends deserved better, each of their six faces demanded that he stay strong. Let them try to break him, he laughed as he lay on the cold steel in his cell his muscles shaking with spasms from repeated beatings by those horrid batons, let them try.


	19. Chapter 19: Essence

Chapter Nineteen: Essence

General Urwel sat in his command bunker with what might be called a grin scribed across his slug-like face. His myriad of broken busted tusk-like teeth formed a sickly expression that encapsulated quite well all the emotions swirling in his slimy head. He handed an information drive to the nearest Combine soldier and simply nodded his head. The soldier stood silent for a moment as if the meaning of the nod was lost on him. The expression that came after was one of blood-lust and irate anger. The Overwatch soldier seemed to understand that message and was soon rushing down the corridor and out of the bunker.

"You're sure the temple is close?" Urwel asked in his stilted English.

"Would Nemico, or the assassin, have stopped here for any other reason?" a female voice answered from the shadows, "It is definitely there."

"I want you to go there personally," Urwel explained to the woman.

"You trust me in such close-proximity to the ultimate power?" The woman asked with a devious smile.

"I trust that you can beat the assassin there," General Urwel corrected.

"And Nemico as well." Vera thought aloud.

"It is clear that he has defied his programming," Urwel agreed, "It matters not, I'm sending a hundred Combine soldiers with you. Unlike the Templar I do not underestimate my enemies," the slug growled derisively, "Do not fail me."

"Don't worry," Vera cooed, "Soon the power of the gods will lie in your... hands."

Julian dropped down onto the moss covered stone of the Temple and let his sharp eyes scan the jungle around them. He was fairly certain that the Combine had no real presence in the area but a feeling of unnatural trepidation had accompanied the assassin for the last few miles of their journey. He had scouted ahead of the group for just that reason making sure to pick a path that was safe, at least as safe as a path through dense ancient jungle could be. Now, at last, they were here, the Starseed Temple, the mysterious structure haunting the hidden memories of both Allison and Theta Prime.

For so important a structure it certainly seemed unimpressive from where Julian currently stood. The temple walls were barely discernible beneath the heavy overgrowth of shrugs, mosses and even the occasional tree. It was as if the jungle had tried to swallow up the ancient building and had they arrived a moment later it might have succeeded.

Julian traced his way back to Allison, Theta, Alyx and Cheng. He found his four companions equally on guard especially Allison whose shockingly blue eyes darted to and fro as if trying to pick out movement amidst the jungle canopy. Julian too began to scan but even his sharp eyes could see nothing wrong, even if his sharp instinct seemed to feel something. He shrugged it off as he approached explaining the dimensions of the Temple and being quite satisfied that this was indeed the temple they were looking for.

Allison walked beside Julian with apprehension bleeding from her feet with every step. Every snap of a twig or call of a jungle bird sent her mind reeling. Initially she'd hoped to feel at home in the jungle, after all in the fragmented memories of Lieutenant Eisley she'd felt quite at home tracking through the jungle. Now though the trees and vines seemed of a malicious and dark portent. Despite having so many genetic memories wound into this place none of them reared their heads as they neared the Temple, no flashes of the past came to haunt her even as they rounded the final hill and the outline of the temple, almost buried beneath vegetation, came into view.

"This is it?" Julian asked hoping his suspicions had been correct, Theta looked at him and nodded sheepishly.

"The entrance will be on the Eastern Facing side," Theta announced pointing to the correct face, "In ancient times the sun would strike that face as it rose and cast the shadow of the temple on the village."

"Fascinating," Cheng mused not even bothering to question how Theta had come into those particular facts.

"Something isn't right," Allison reminded and Julian found his hands going to his gun.

"Maldragons perhaps," Theta theorized.

"Something is moving," Julian confirmed watching the swarming green shadows as they leaped from tree to tree. The assassin was quick into the trees as well and had his pistol drawn. He moved swiftly using his gauntlet blades to launch from one tree to another digging into the trunks with the blades before rushing to the next tree. He could not catch the blurred shapes however, they were too quick, they knew the jungle canopy far better than he did. He managed to corner one of them at last after trapping it behind a wall of thick vines, "Identify yourself," he found himself demanding although for all he knew this was an animal, perhaps a species of monkey, they were dealing with.

"The essence dwells within us," a voice shouted back and with it came a bolt of blue-green lightning that bridged the distance between the target and Julian so quickly that the assassin could not do anything but be hit by it dead on. The young assassin flew from the tree shaking and convulsing but somehow still more or less intact, "None must be allowed to taint the Temple."

"What the hell was that?" Alyx asked rushing up to help Julian.

Suddenly the answer to their question emerged from the jungle all around them. Arcs of electricity extended from their palms as they strolled out as calmly as can be and surrounded the five companions in a dome of energy. Caged like animals Julian and the others looked on with eyes wide at the identity of their attackers.

"You shall not pass," the lead Vortigaunt, one taller than any Julian had ever seen and bearing a white eye instead of a read eye, explained, "The temple must be protected!"

Emil couldn't be sure how long he was unconscious for and the thick canopy of trees over his head didn't help with determining the time of day. He glanced down at his wounds, the heavy rounds the jeep's mounted gun had pumped into him had done serious damage but after running a self-diagnostic there was nothing permanent about the damage that he could find. Still as he rose from the rocks and began moving once more Emil found himself in agonizing pain. Could it be that the suits supply of adrenaline and pain-killing performance enhancing drugs had run out? That possibility made Emil think twice about his own abilities, about his own arrogance.

The feelings of power that coursed through him when he wielded the Apple had left him believing himself more than a mortal. He believed himself a God, he could see with deified eyes that the difference between good and evil was merely a difference between powerful and weak. As he reached down and plugged a finger into one of his remaining wounds he began to wonder which he was, powerful or weak. Even with these enhancements, even with the Apple firmly in his grasp, he had still failed to kill Julian, he had still been defeated by the simplest deception.

Emil found the tracks of the stolen jeep quite easily and began following them. He wasn't going to make the same mistake twice, he assured himself, this time he would attack only Julian and once the assassin was out of the way the rest of his group would be easy pickings. Perhaps, Emil mused lewdly, he would take one of them as a bride, a queen, a goddess even, to amuse him and please him when he took command of the Resistance.

One thing at a time though, Emil told himself as he came upon the obviously abandoned jeep. First the assassin and his friends had to fall so that his usurpation would be so much easier. The citizens had been eating out of his palm before, imagine how much easier his rise to power would be with the Apple at his disposal.

One thing at a time. First warrior, than savior, then god.

Julian sat in his cell wondering what would become of them, wondering if there was any way to fight or sneak his way out of the Vortigaunt camp. It was clear that these Vorts were no friends of the Combine, helmets of Combine soldiers, and even a the remains of a defeated Gunship, were displayed proudly like the trophies of a warrior tribe. Beyond their natural attachment to the Vortessence, which gave them access to powerful lightning attacks, these Vorts had fashioned crude armor and weapons out the tough carapaces and cutting claws of Antlions. The assassin could see no way out of this by fighting, at least not a way that left him alive and even if the option existed he had no quarrel with Vortigaunts especially ones who actively hunted the Combine.

The hours passed slowly for Julian and the others kept in separate make-shift cells only a few hundred feet from one another. Julian divided most of his time between worrying about Allison and wondering about a means of escape. They'd confiscated all of his weaponry however and although he did have a blade hidden in one of his shoes which they did not know about he was quite certain he'd be dead before more than a few of them could fall victim to it.

"No way out through fighting yes?" A voice called to him as if reading his thoughts, Julian turned to see a Vortigaunt imprisoned the way he was.

"This place is very well-guarded," Julian agreed.

"Aye," the Vort replied simply, "And what are you in for friend?"

"Name's Julian Miles," Julian answered managing a smile, "My friends and I seek the power of the Temple."

"Many have come for that purpose," the Vort explained, "Since the Nihilanth passed from the Vortessence my people have guarded the sacred Temple."

"Why are you in here?" Julian asked and the Vortigaunt's expression seemed perplexed.

"I was captured by the Combine," the Vort explained with sadness appearing in it's red eye, "They forced me to try to get into the Temple. I was captured and all the Combine were killed."

"What will they do with you?" Julian asked but his question was interrupted by the sound of the heavy steel door opening. Six Vortigaunts walked in including the leader they'd seen earlier, his white eye gravitated toward Julian and with one finger extended he pointed at the assassin.

Julian didn't resist as two of the Vorts pulled him from the cage and tossed him onto the stone on his knees before the lead Vortigaunt.

"We have come to an agreement that you are not Combine agents," the leader said, "You are of the Assassin Order of the humans?"

"That is accurate," Julian replied flatly, "I'm Julian Miles."

"You seek access to the Starseed Temple the Julian Miles?"

"We do," Julian nodded, "But only to use it against the Combine, to get to it before they do."

"The power contained inside that place is sacred to the Vortessence," the leader hummed almost as if chanting, "It must never belong to the Combine."

"Than we can take it?" Julian dared to ask.

"We will free the Julian Miles and his friends of their cages," the leader replied, "but they will stay with us at all times. We will see if the Combine truly come here, and if they do we will be ready."

Julian felt the weight lift off his shoulders. Sure they were still essentially prisoners in the village but at least they made a possible ally. Julian wasn't sure how long it would take for the Combine to find the Temple, after all they'd been looking for it for some time now already by scanning the memories of dozens if not hundreds. He ran to Allison's side as they released her from her cage and then headed off to get his weapons and other belongings. It wasn't quite the outcome he'd hoped for when he'd managed to take that Hunter-Chopper out of the air at Hunter's Fall but at least they were alive. Now all they had to do was wait.

Emil arrived at the top of the hill and took in the breath-taking sight of the valley below. To any ordinary observer in the immediate area the valley would have seemed an overgrown tangle of trees and vines relatively unremarkable amidst the massive jungle. Emil Nemico was no longer ordinary however. His eyes could see things that ordinary human eyes could not. He could just make out the outline of the ancient temple buried beneath decades of grasses, moss and trees.

Soon enough the former Templar stood at the base of the structure and glared up at the magnificently carved stone. His mind wandered imagining what the place must have looked like when it was brand-new. The Apple seemed to throb in his hand as he neared the top of the Temple, energy resonating from it's spherical surface shivered down Emil's synthetic arm and through every servo and remaining biological system in his body.

He noticed something then as he shifted into the infrared, heat marks, scorches really. The trees nearby were burnt and though the former Templar was no scientist he could tell that the burns were caused by a high-energy discharge, possibly a lightning strike. No storm had moved through the area recently and yet here was the tree with bark still smoldering.

Then Emil's synthetic eyes began to detect movement moving through thr trees. Instinctively he began to back away from the Temple. He drew his sword as he did although the real weapon he planned on using in the event of any attack was undoubtedly the Apple. The attack never came as Emil backed away several hundred meters from the base of the Temple and kept on watching the trees. He had the strangest suspicion that they were watching him back.

Shephard could hear the cackling laughter bouncing off the inner-walls of that hollow cell. The air was so empty and yet so full of thick unwavering hatred. For a moment he found himself wondering who it was who was laughing so maniacally, so desperately. The realization came to him after a few moments of silence after the sudden dissipation of the phantasmal laughter. Tears came to Adrian Shephard's eyes then, but they weren't tears of guilt, of anguish, or of sadness, they were tears of hatred.

How he hated the Combine now. Every action his enemies undertook was meant to break him, to douse the fire in his belly, but for Shephard, determined and ever resolved, the opposite effect was achieved. Hatred, burning brighter than the fiery fusion of the sun, was ignited by what the Combine had done to him.

The laughter that haunted him had been his own. It was getting worse, they were starting to get to him, his mind would start to fracture soon he knew.

The door opened and light flooded the darkness of Shephard's haunted mind. He gnashed his teeth and spat curses at the guards absent-mindedly. In truth Shephard didn't even know what he was saying, he didn't care, he just cried those tears of hate and let his abusive words fly. The worst they could do was take his life, he convinced himself, he would not let them take his mind.

As they led him toward the Animus chamber for another session he thought he saw someone he recognized in the hallway. Her face was so familiar to him, tough, gnarled, yet beautiful. He couldn't place that face. His mind searched for a name to give it or at least a memory to attach it to. Shephard remembered then, he remembered the battered bloodied face of one of his dearest friends. He remembered Amber Cartwright's expression locked forever on her face, her cold, dead, face.

Shephard heard that laughter again as they lay him down and strapped him in. He let that spectral laugh fill his soul with hate.

Theta paced like an animal in a cage despite the fact that all five of them now walked freely amongst the Vortigaunt Resistance members. Although being in a quite remote part of the jungle Julian found that the Kor'Lal, as the tribe liked to call themselves, were actually affiliated with the Asian branch of the Resistance. That branch had been largely unknown even to Alyx. Theta didn't like any of this but above all she detested the waiting. She suspected the Temple contained clues to help explain her past, or, at the very least, the past of one of her ancestors. Even more tempting was the possibility that the crystals she'd seen in her visions might have powerful properties that could be used to fight the Combine.

Now here they were, so close and yet so far and crippled into inaction by the intimidation of a group of aliens. Vortigaunts weren't even from Earth and although the Resistance had enjoyed their friendship for more than a decade Earth was hardly their homeworld. How could these aliens claim to have any knowledge of an Earth temple? How could they demand that natives of the planet Earth steer-clear of an area of their own world? The injustice of the situation ate at her innards with gnawing and persistent frustration.

Alyx lie in bed doing her best to coax Theta over but it simply wasn't working. With a shrug and a sigh Alyx stood and walked over to her lover placing a comforting hand firmly on Theta's shoulder. To Alyx's shock Theta reacted violently punching her fist against the nearest stone wall with kunckle cracking force and in the process shrugging away Alyx's offered hand.

"Goddamn it!" Theta shouted collapsing onto the bed like a pouting child, "So close."

"We've got time," Alyx reminded, "It's not like they've forbidden us from every visiting the temple."

"Waiting for the Combine to show up could take months, years eve-"

"Pardon, but our enemies stir in the jungle," a Vortigaunt whispered as he entered their room, "Chief of the Kor'Lal requests that the Alyx Vance and the Theta Prime ready themselves for battle."

"You were saying?" Alyx joked, Theta cracked a smile and smacked Alyx on the behind playfully.

As they moved through the jungle Julian noted just how effortlessly the Vorts had learned to use the trees as a method of invisible movement. Even with his considerable assassin training he couldn't come close to the level of stealth these warriors had somehow honed in their time out here in the jungles of Laos. Because of this added bonus of surprise Julian kept himself at the back of the Vort pack just barely keeping up with their speed. He kept an eye on Allison, Theta and Alyx who were moving along at a steady but far from stealthy pace thanks to Cheng's presence.

They came to the temple in a little over an hour and Julian watched as the Vort scouts slipped into the trees before coming back with their information. They spoke in their native tongue to each other, a form of Xenian that Julian could not understand. He'd heard the language before of course as many Vortigaunts spoke it amongst themselves but it was a tongue that was nearly impossible to decipher even for the sharpest mind with years of linguistic study. Julian could gather the basic meaning this time for the Vortigaunt gestured in ways more common to the assassin and clearly indicated that the Combine force was far larger than those normally faced by this tribe.

"Nearly a hundred accounted for," the chief the Kor'Lal explained to Julian a few moments later, "Overwatch, fifteen or so Elites."

"They don't know we're here do they?" Julian asked and the Vort's expressions confirmed that the answer was yes, "Now that the Combine knows we're here we must get into the temple to get the power before they do."

"It is not a power the humans were ever meant to possess," The chief argued.

"It is a power intended only for gods," Julian agreed with a nod, "but mortals can wield it all the same. Would you prefer they wield it against us? You create a distraction, attack with surprise on your side, my friends will sneak into the temple."

"Where will the Julian Miles be?" the chief asked.

"I'll remain to fight with the Kor'Lal as long as I can," Julian answered, "No promises though."

"No promises," the chief echoed, "Let the Vortessence guide us to a powerful victory."

Julian watched the Vortigaunts move into position around the Combine solders. The soldiers seemed spread out all around the base of the temple with no main camp. The reason for this soon became obvious when Julian caught sight of a lone figure scaling the Eastern face of the temple structure – a woman. Were all these soldiers serving as nothing but guards? The assassin sped up toward the edges of the Vort line and waited for the moment to strike. He looked back to Allison and the others hoping that they would be able to get into the temple safely amidst the confusion that was about to ensue.

The assassin took up a position near the Eastern face wall and waited for the Vort attack. It struck without warning, bolts of blue and green digging deep into the Combine soldiers. The Overwatch actually outnumbered the Vortigaunts two to one but it made little difference in those initial moments of chaos and lightning. At least a dozen Combine soldiers fell dead from the bolts while still two dozen others collapsed or fell to their knees clutching their tensing and nervous muscles as electricity rolled through them. Julian hopped down now making for the nearest Overwatch soldiers on the Eastern face of the temple. He managed to pick off the first two before the final four even knew what was happening but that left him with an empty silenced USP and four very angry Overwatch.

Julian dodged their MP7 bullets and hid behind a nearby tree while reloading his gun. This was his final magazine of rounds for his USP and he had to make them count. He slipped from cover using the sound of their incoming fire to plot the course of each bullet. One soldier cried out in agony and collapsed into another while Julian dove into a roll to land behind a boulder with runes etched into its surface. Bullets chipped off the stone of the boulder as the assassin steadied himself to put down the last three soldiers.

His attention was drawn away then toward an enemy that had since then eluded him. The Elite fired his AR2 at the assassin. Julian had to spring immediately in the direction of the Overwatch putting himself in danger of their bullets in order to avoid the line-of-fire of his new-found enemy. He swept the feet from the nearest Overwatch and felt a bullet graze his right knee. The pain burned through him like a wildfire but he set it aside in his mind as he disarmed the Overwatch in mid-fall and came up to his feet firing the MP7's grenade launcher round at the Elite. The round wasn't on target however the resounding explosion kept the Elite suppressed.

With the Elite temporarily out of commission Julian unsheathed his dual Xenian blades and cut down the remaining Combine Overwatch like they were made of paper. The assassin's attention was once again drawn away, this time by something moving in the trees at the base of the temple. This was far faster than any ordinary Combine yet it was most certainly not a Kor'Lal Vortigaunt. Julian flipped himself over the boulder and landed atop the Combine Elite who had only just got his AR2 up to begin firing again. Dark Xenian steel stained his white armor with blood.

Julian realized then what he was looking, the figure moving toward him making incredible time up the steep slope of the temple. Julian kept his blades drawn and retreated into the shadows of a nearby cluster of trees. He wanted to face this opponent alone, he needed to if he hoped to survive.

The walls of the temple seemed so much older than they had in her visions and yet when Allison touched them they seemed to resonate with the same bright power. Already the blue etchings in the stone shone with such luminescence that Alyx and Cheng had to shield their eyes. Allison and Theta seemed unaffected, even enticed, by the enchanted walls of this mysterious temple. Following faded memories locked within their genetic codes Allison and Theta led the others down each winding path, through each corridor, and down deeper into the bowels of the Starseed Temple.

It had been almost too easy to get inside in the confusion of the battle. The only opposition they'd faced was a measly two Combine soldiers. Alyx had taken both out with her Kris blade. Now that they were inside however it wasn't as if victory was somehow assured. Even going on the memories of Lieutenant Eisley there was no guarantee they could find the crystals.

"What do these runes mean I wonder," Cheng mused aloud as they pressed deeper into the labyrinthine depths.

"Some tell stories," Theta said, "Others are warnings."

"Stories of what?"

"Of the First Ones," Allison replied before Theta could answer, "Those that were here before, those first visitors who shaped us."

"I'm not sure I understand," Cheng replied sheepishly.

"Neither am I," Allison admitted, her pale cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

"Hush now," Theta said as they stepped into a lower chamber and found there a large door with many etchings all brilliantly blinding blue, "We're getting close."

Julian stepped out to meet the Synthetic assassin with both swords drawn. Julian knew that he could have easily defeated the old Emil Nemico but now, with both the barrel of an AR2 and the tip of a sword staring him down he wasn't so sure he was ready for this fight. The Combine were getting better at creating killers and he knew it wasn't long before the Combine could create something truly superior to man in every way. They had tried once with the Omega Project and Emil Nemico's ressurecction only served to prove Julian's suspicions that they were still at it.

Julian dodged the first speedy swings of that deadly-sharp sword and managed to block the next few with his Xenian steel. Emil was fast, almost too fast for Julian to stay ahead of his attacks. Luckily for the young assassin Emil Nemico was hardly an excellent strategist when it came to sword play. In fact the Templar's attacks were almost always highly predictable. Julian managed to stay a step ahead of the Synth for those first few minutes of battle.

Rather than become frustrated however Emil Nemico seemed all the more resolved to kill the assassin once and for all. Julian's once easy task of predicting the machine-man's attacks was becoming harder, nearly impossible. It was as if the synth were learning, gaining skills that he hadn't possessed in his previous incarnation. Of course! Julian nearly slapped himself in the face for not realizing it. Emil Nemico was only an average swordsman but with his computerized mind came knowledge of nearly everything.

Julian somehow slipped away from a series of devastating attacks that sent sparks singing from his swords. Emil swung around and around in rapid and quick succession but Julian dodged under, then over, then under again barely avoiding the razor tip of those blades. Julian leaped blindly, daringly, reaching under the next series of attacks to score a hit on the synth's stomach. Black blood slipped from the wound as Julian moved to block the next few attacks.

"Even in this form you're weak!" Julian spat hoping to taunt the revenge seeker into doing something stupid.

The ruse didn't work however and the former Templar simply continued his exploration of different techniques. Julian, through footwork and blocking, managed to keep the synth's blades at bay and managed to keep himself at a distance. The assassin was running out of options and so he decided to keep that distance as high as he possibly could. Using his wits and his fast feet Julian slipped into the jungle's shadows. He knew evading the synth would be difficult, nigh impossible, but he had to try.

Emil chased after him but lost the trail a few moments later. With eyes scanning for heat Emil found himself growing angry and tired. His body was still somewhat sore and new pain was emerging from his stomach where the assassin had hit him. Had he still been an ordinary man the fight might have ended with that wound, his life might have ended. Emil thought he had followed the heat signature correctly but as he swung himself around the tree his blades impacted a Vortigaunt rebel instead of a human assassin. A jolt of electricity shocked his systems momentarily before he could once again search for the assassin.

"Come out you dog!" Emil shouted, "You can't have them, they are my people! I will be their savior, I will be their king!"

"King?" Julian shouted back, "You can't even kill one stinking assassin!"

Emil smiled wickedly and took out the apple. He knew Julian might be able to resist its affects but the forest around him could not. He grasped the tree that the assassin was hiding behind and forced it to splinter and break apart. The assassin dashed away just in time managing to escape the tumbling tree with only a few scratches caused by falling branches.

"I will take the power for myself!" Emil shouted tearing aside another tree and several boulders only to find the assassin already gone from behind them, "Come out and fight coward!"

"Fair enough," Julian replied stepping out from the shadows, suddenly four lightning bolts struck out toward Emil Nemico and sent shivers of energy coursing through his body. Even with all the drugs, all the power, it was still agonizingly painful. Emil lifted the Apple in anger but he was too weak to use it. Julian walked up and grabbed the Apple from Emil's hand.

"No," Emil mumbled standing up and reaching for his gun but a bolt of Vort lightning put him down low.

"I showed you mercy before," Julian sighed, "But no more."

Julian lifted the templar up with the power of the Apple and drew one of his swords. The assassin cut the throat of Emil Nemico and watched as not five, not ten, but fifteen Vortigaunt lightning bolts reached out to scorch his body. Emil Nemico fell to the stone of the Starseed Temple shaking, bleeding, dying.

The Earth beneath Julian's feet began to quake, the birds of the jungle took to the air and the assassin turned his eyes to the top of the temple as bright blue light shot out of an orifice at the top. With things seemingly taken care of on the outside Julian found himself wondering what was causing all the turmoil inside.

"By the gods," she exclaimed as the room opened up before her.

The chamber was larger than she'd imagined from the outside. It had at least three exits and a magnificent throne of glowing gleaming metal seemed centrally located. Above that throne was an altar bearing four rods and at the top of each rod was a crystal. Vera Novosa had waited for this moment for a long time. For centuries the Templars had theorized that the Pieces of Eden were not an end unto themselves but were instead the means to a greater power. Now that greater power was in her sights, the illuminated crystals that topped each scepter of power.

Even as she approached the crystals their resonance, their harmonic growling, began to become stronger and stronger. At first Vera assumed her own presence was doing this but soon the stone door behind her shot open and four companions walked in.

"The assassin's friends," Vera recognized with an uninterested tone as she reached out and touched one of the crystals.

"Don't," Allison warned, "These are the Four Starseeds of Balance!"

"What are you on about?" Vera asked feeling the power coursing from the Starseed crystal into her body.

"Without them this place cannot exist on this plane!" Allison shouted and the ground seemed to shake in response, "Only one can remove them."

"My thought's exactly," Vera agreed reaching out for the next crystal. The woman found, however, that neither would budge no matter how tightly she wrapped her fingers around them.

"Only one of special blood," Allison replied kneeling before the throne as the pieces of the ceiling began to chip off in the quake, "There are others, deeper down in a lower chamber, you cannot take these!"

"ALLISON!" A voice shouted, a voice that seemed to call to her from far away, familiar, warm, loving.

"I don't have time for this!" Vera shouted pulling with all her might. At last one of the crystals jostled free of its perch on the staff. A brilliant light shot through the room and the sound of the quaking ground was replaced by the sound of screams as Vera's body withered and died before their very eyes.

"Allison!" The voice cried out again and this time Allison responded.

"Julian!"

The assassin rushed into the chamber pushing his beloved out of the way as a massive chunk of stone broke from the ceiling and threatened to crush her.

"Take the crystals," Allison said in a daze as if not fully aware of who or where she was.

"We need to get out of here!" Julian exclaimed.

"It is too late to put them back," Allison sighed.

Julian wasn't sure what was happening but his eyes were drawn instinctively to those four bright blue crystals. He stretched out his hands and grabbed them one at a time. They pulled loose easily one after another and seemed to hang in the air in front of him. Julian was perplexed even mesmerized as they all four seemed to dance around him in an orbit before finally coming to rest one at his front, the other his rear and the two others his sides. He grabbed them then stowing them in his assassin's robes and lifting Allison off the still shaking ground.

"Now can we please get the hell out of here!" Julian demanded.

"Research is over," Cheng agreed turning back to head the way they came.

Somehow, with stones and roots narrowly missing them, they managed to find their way back out of the temple. The entire jungle seemed alive, seemed to be growling, screaming out with constant reverberations. As the five of them raced down the face of the temple they expected the Kor'Lal to follow them and flee. Instead the Vortigaunts took up positions at the base of the now sinking temple as it vanished into the jungle. The Vortigaunts began to chant then, their rhythmic repetition seemed to ease the Earth's incessant quaking and seemed to slow the collapse of the massive and ancient stone structure. Blocks broke apart like crisp leaves as the jungle literally devoured the Starseed Temple.

A shock-wave shook the jungle a few seconds later leaving Julian and the others standing on flat barren ground beside a crater.

Later that night Julian sat by the fire with Allison, Alyx, Theta, Cheng and at least twenty Kor'Lal. The Vortigaunts had asked them to stay behind to help rebuild the temple but Julian had made a more tempting offer, he had offered them a chance to join the real Resistance and to take the fight to the Combine for a change. After all the temple was gone leaving no evidence that it ever existed save a barren wasteland of shattered stone and fallen trees. There was no sacred secret left here to protect, the secret was now safe in the hands of Julian Miles.

"You're sure this friend of yours knows what to do with these sorts of crystals?" Julian asked stirring Alyx out of her thoughts.

"If anyone can figure it out it's Izzy," Alyx nodded, "Just get us to Dark Haven and he'll take care of the rest."

Shephard watched the guards carefully as they carried him back to his cell. He'd been paying closer attention lately looking for any loop-holes in their security. He knew that on the way to the Animus room one of the rooms they passed was an armory, an armory filled with far better weaponry than mere stun batons he knew.

Storing up hatred could only take a man so far and a man pushed to the edge of madness could only be taken so far before breaking. Luckily for Adrian Shephard there was an outlet for all the agony and darkness he'd been storing up, there was a potential victim worthy of his vitriol and rage. Actually, he chuckled as they threw him into his cell and locked the door, there were two of them... and more were that came from.

With dreams of Combine soldiers drowning in their own blood as his only comfort Shephard found himself in search of sleep and in preparation of freedom.


	20. Chapter 20: Polarity

Chapter Twenty – Polarity

The shadows swirled about his mind with seemingly dark intent shrouding from his memory the truth of what had happened. One thing seemed for certain to the man though, he was not dead. His injuries had been grave, certainly even for one who was built like he was they would have proved fatal almost instantly and yet here he was. Where was he? His head throbbed as waves of light began penetrating the powerful depth of the darkness. Aurora like arcs of light danced about him now as he realized that he was suspended in the air high above some dark rock that seemed to levitate beneath him. That island seemed to be floating in an abyss of stars and bright clouds. He found himself falling then toward a structure on the surface of that island, a building carved by hands ancient and then he felt the breath entering his lungs.

"I'm not dead," Emil Nemico found his lips saying as he sat up and took a look around. The truth of those words was unknown to him but for the time being it was his working hypothesis. He stood and brushed himself off before, in a moment of sudden terror, remembering his fight with Julian and the ghastly wounds he had assumed would kill him. It had ended in a flash of light as he lay bleeding out on the side of the Temple, "I am dead?"

The ground shook beneath his feet shuddering as though the rocks themselves were living beings. He took better survey of his surroundings as the shaking subsided and realized that he was standing on the side of the Starseed Temple, the same place where he had presumably met his untimely end. This was not the jungle however, this was not even Earth. The stars were foreign to his eyes and great clouds of pink and green fluttered about amongst a auroral sea surrounding the land mass on all sides.

Something moving caught his attention and the synthetic assassin turned to see a Vortigaunt moving toward them. He was old by the look of him and wearing more scars than the most battle-hardened human could ever hope to live through. Emil groped for his sword or his gun but found both missing. No matter, he though brandishing his fists in preparation for the fight, he could take the alien. Only then did he realize that most of his synthetic areas had been altered somehow. He put his hands to his face feeling a face instead of an armored visage designed by the Combine.

"Put down your appendages human," the Vort growled, "In this place I can strike you down into ashes with little more than a thought."

"What is this place?" Emil found himself asking as he dropped his fists lazily to his sides.

"The between-world," the Vort responded, "This is where the veil between the Vortessence is most thin."

"How did I get here? Am I dead?" Emil asked staring up at the vastness all around him.

"Not dead," the Vort shook his head, "you must have passed through the veil when the Temple was returned here."

"Returned?"

"It was not of your, how you would say, reality, it has existed in your world only because of the crystals," the Vort said, "Come inside now, we are not alone."

General Yvolslog Urwel sat in his bunker contemplating his next move. His superiors would not pleased with the reported failure of his forces at the Temple. They had not yet reported back of course but it had already been nearly three days since their departure. The General wasn't sure how the assassin and his friends had managed to fight off so large a fighting force but he was more than sure that the Assassins had been a thorn in the side of the Combine for long enough.

Vague rumors were all that had surfaced so far, stories of a massive shockwave in the jungles of Laos that sent every animal for a thousand miles scurrying the other direction. Even worse than the idea that the assassins had recovered the power of the Temple was the idea that Emil Nemico and Vera might have. The General knew full well that the two had a prior history together and that both were Templars, a pitiful faction of humans that attempted to play both sides of the conflict for their own perverse purposes and profits.

General Urwel's computer monitor flashed to life a few seconds later. As his serpentine tongue dug between his pointed teeth nervously the image of a Combine Advisor appeared on the screen. It's language was barely understandable to the General but the tone of it's alien screeches and psychic waves was more than clear. They were more than a little angry with the General's failed handling of the issue and they had monitored the release of energy from the Temple's destruction.

"What of the power it contained?" The General asked in his own native tongue.

"It is no longer of concern to the likes of you," came the definitive reply this time the Advisor attempted General Urwel's own language, quite successfully capturing the anger of that guttural tongue, "You have one last task in City 12, kill all the children. Once you have completed that task you are to be... reassigned. We will deal with the ones who have taken the power of the Temple."

"As you wish," General Urwel said gritting his teeth as mucous, like nervous sweat, dripped down his sickly skin.

The image on the screen vanished and the General let a sickly sigh of relief escape his grotesque lungs. They were reassigning him, though that didn't sound too promising he was at least glad to still be alive. Had they needed to the Advisors could have easily had him killed. He took no pleasure in the idea of having to kill the children however. There was no mercy to be found in the General's many chambered heart but killing off the only potential future work force, killing off the only potential future recruitment pool for Overwatch, seemed unwise. Going against the wishes of the Advisors in the wake of his failure however would have proved to be suicidal, the very pinnacle of un-wisdom.

Alyx stepped tentatively toward the big steel door and brought to her memory the knock that would give her entrance. Three quick taps followed by three heavy resounding thuds that nearly rubbed the rust from the door off on her hands. The base, known only as Agartha, was an old tunnel system built beneath this part of Germany used as a last refuge by the Nazis in WW2. It was ironic that these tunnels, built by Europe's oppressors, were now being reused by those who sought it's liberation.

A long pause followed Alyx's knock but soon enough she heard the steel bar on the other side slide away and watched as six armed guards came out to greet her. One of them recognized her and rushed out to hug her. Julian recognized the man as Barney Calhoun. He'd met Barney very briefly during their pursuit of the Borealis' contents with Gordon and Alyx. There was a warm comradery in that embarace, almost a sibling-hood.

"Just about given you up for lost," Barney remarked.

"Is Gordon-" Alyx began to ask but Barney was already shaking his head.

"Still MIA, as usual, damn man only shows up when we're absolutely on the brink of disaster... anyway it's good to have you back, I was getting tired of having to be the guinea pig for the Doc's experiments."

"You remember Julian of course," Alyx said and Julian stepped up to shake the mans hand.

"How could I forget the man who left me for dead fighting off two gunships," Barney smirked.

"I came back for you eventually," Julian joked.

"Well no use having you guys stand out there, come on in, Izzy's expecting you, ever since you sent that message he's been working almost non-stop."

"On what?" Allison found herself asking after no one else asked the obvious question.

"Do I look like a quantum engineer to you?" Barney replied with a playful smile as he led them down the tunnels until at last they came to a massive steel door with several hazard signs plastered across it and DO NOT DISTURB – SCIENCE IN PROGRESS spray painted in bold letters, "Lab's just through that door, I gotta guy check on security, we had a few shells hit the valley on the other side of this mountain and our guys have been out cleaning up the zombie problem. See you when I see you."

Julian grabbed his satchel as Alyx pushed the door open and walked inside. All the other felt strangely nervous as they stepped in to the room. There was a strange low hum, a whirring like the working of some dark machine, that haunted the air as they stepped into the lab. An almost fog-like mist shrouded the room making it hard for them to see. As they swatted in vain against the mists the sound seemed to be growing louder and more high-pitched, the shape of something spinning somewhere over their heads moved through the mist. Just like that the lights flickered and the sound died out.

"Doctor Kleiner!" Alyx shouted, "Are you in here? Are you alright?"

"Alyx?" an excited voice came out the shadows soon followed by the man himself, "Alyx my dear!"

The bespectacled man, easily in his late sixties, ran to Alyx to embrace her. He pulled back self-consciously when he realized his lab coat was soaked through with a gooey black substance like some kind of tar. He then moved over to the corner mumbling an apology about the state of the lab as he hit the ventilation system and began fanning out the smoke from the room. Only then did the expanse of space around them become obvious. The ceiling was high, at least thirty feet above them with massive industrial fans. Reinforced steel beams hung above them suspending a strange apparatus that had arms that seemed to reach down from the ceiling like giant fingers. Just beneath the reach of that artificial hand was a a small reinforced container that looked almost like it was designed to hold hazardous waste material.

"Well for those of you who don't know me my name is Issac Kleiner, formerly an employee of Black Mesa. I'm sure all of you know what we did there, and that many of us have tried as hard as we can to undo that mistake."

"That's why we're here Doc," Alyx replied attempting to lighten the man's mood, "We have something that might do just that."

"So I've heard," the man replied with anticipation, "may I see the crystals."

Julian opened his bag and removed one of the crystals. At first it seemed inert, inactive and cold with a blue lifeless slate surface. As Julian touched it the starseed crystal began to shimmer, it's light soon becoming all but intolerable to the small group of onlookers. Doctor Kleiner pulled his goggles down over his eyes and reached his hands behind him to take a pair of gloves from the desk located there all without ever taking his eyes off the mesmerizing crystal. Delicately the doctor took the crystal from Julian's hands and watched as it's glow soon died away.

"Great Scott," the man gasped as the light flickered before vanishing.

"What do you think Doc?" Alyx asked, "Is it the same cyrstal that was present for the Black Mesa incident?"

"No," the man replied emphatically, "the crystal that began the Resonance Cascade was yellow in color, not blue... We will need to take time to study it before we do anything."

"In the meantime you guys can all make yourselves at home," Alyx said turning to Julian and the others, "the Vorts will fix you up something to eat if you like and I'm sure guest quarters have been prepared."

"I could really use a good nap," Cheng mentioned yawning loudly and only then did everyone else realize just how fatigued they were from their ordeal. Tired, exhausted and bruised they went to their quarters and, in the peace of their present safety, fell into a deep sleep.

Emil Nemico glared out at the maddening depths of the vast cosmic expanse that spread before him. It was at once frightening and exquisitely beautiful to the man. He'd never been one to really stop to appreciate the beauty of the world, too busy as he had been taking advantage of it. Now he seemed to have little choice but to take in the sights and sounds around him although it was hardly Earthen beauty he was admiring. This was Xen, his Vortigaunt companion had explained to him, the Border World, a place that existed on the fringes of multiple realities.

Emil had heard tales of the place from some of the Vortigaunt Resistance members he'd met during his time as a soldier. This was their homeworld, or at the very least their homeworld was somewhere amidst the endless realms that made up Xen. They had been taken as slaves at one time, slaves to the Combine force to fight and kill before the one Free Man had freed them from the control of the Nihilanth. The story had been an interesting one but he'd always assumed it was a myth. There were many tall tales associated with those early days after the Earth was invaded by aliens but few if any had clear knowledge of the past.

Emil tapped his foot anxiously suddenly feeling uncomfortable around all the empty space that surrounded him. He turned back toward the Temple and entered the atrium before descending into the Vortigaunt's makeshift bed-chamber. There the Vort stood stirring a ladle in a caldron of some kind suspended over a roaring blue-white flame. The Vort hummed in a language entirely foreign to Emil's ears but it was a very resonant and beautiful sound, one that calmed the man as he took a seat on a small stool nearby to the Vortigaunt's stone bed.

"We shall feast on the body of a one-eye I killed earlier," the Vort said pointing to the body of a strange pod-like green alien with one giant eye, "It's flesh will be sufficient to sustain we two for some days."

"I need to get back," Emil declared absent-mindedly, "I can't be stuck here."

"The way back is not easy," the Vort said, "or else I would have attempted it centuries ago."

"You've been on this rock for centuries?" the man asked accepting the bowl of soup from the Vort.

"Of your Earth years yes," the Vort nodded, "time does not function the same way in some areas of the between-world. The Temple has a timelessness about it, it has stood between the worlds for eons unnumbered and so time will not pass for us here."

"There is a way back though?" Emil asked hopefully before taking a sip of the soup and turning white at the horrid taste.

"Aye," the Vort nodded, "In time perhaps I will show it to you, but not tonight."

Emil lay down a few hours later slipping a strange alien hide over him to keep him warm. Even with the tick stone walls of the Temple and the burning white coals of the fire the Xenian night was fiercely cold. He found himself wishing to be a synthetic again and wondering how in the hell that transformation had even taken place. How could his teleportation here have removed his synthetic aspects? Shivering beneath his strange blanket and with a stomach aching from the bizarre meal Emil Nemico fell asleep.

The mid-June sun warmed Julian and Allison's skin as they lay basking on the grass a few hundred feet from the main gate of Doom Keep. The assassin had refused to spend such a beautiful day buried in the underground tunnels. Allison's stomach was beginning to show a bit more and Julian found his fingers tracing soft lines around her belly as she lay on the grass beside him. It was the first time in a long time that they'd been able to spend any intimate time alone. With the world collapsing around them there was little time for such pleasures to be indulged in but, at least for now, they were safe and in possession of something that might help turn the tide in humanities favor.

The women of Doom Keep were still trapped under a Suppression Field however and Allison's stomach had been the start of more than one conversation as she'd walked the halls of Doom Keep the last two days. It was easy to forget the delicate ground on which the human race walked, flirting ever with absolute annihilation. Yet in those moments Julian and Allison could forget all that and dwell on each other. It was selfish perhaps, Julian thought as he leaned in to kiss her, but necessary for their sanity.

The moment was stolen from them when the ground began shake. Julian tried to ignore it but it soon grew stronger. The assassin sat up and looked down the rode aways, the trail wandered off into the forest but he could already see the smoke rising from the roadway. Julian took cover with Allison before hiding himself in the branches of a nearby tree. The vehicle at last came up over the ridge into their line-of-sight bringing a sigh of momentary relief when it turned out to be a small group of Resistance scouts.

"You the assassin?" the soldier asked as he parked in the garage and met Julian halfway to the big steel door of Doom Keep.

"I am, what's the matter?"

"Combine forces," the man replied wiping the sweat from his brow as he delivered the knock that would gain them entry, "They're moving this way too, I don't know how many, but they got Strider's with them and ten or more gunships."

"Everywhere we go disaster follows," Allison sighed.

"Come on, we need to see Barney," Julian replied as the massive door swung open.

Shephard knew something was up, his guards were late getting to his cell to take him to his daily interrogation session. They had developed a pattern and despite the fact that he had no clock or contact with the outside world Shephard had an intuitive sense of the passage of time. The pattern had been broken, they were late, more than an hour late at least. Normally the General was a logical man, a rational man, but he could not deny the intuition burning at his insides, the feeling that something was horribly wrong.

Finally he heard the heavy boots of intimidation slamming against the corridor just outside his cell. The door creaked and crashed open bringing brightness with it. Shephard's eyes took a split-second to adjust before he realized he wasn't looking at his ordinary guards. He shrugged dismissively as he stood up and followed them out of the room. They no longer needed to push him around to get him to move but every few feet they attempted to trip him or push him. Shephard was no weakling, even on the pitiful rations the Combine offered him in this hellhole, he barely even flinched when they hit him full force with their fists or batons. A blend of hatred and indifference swelled within him as they shoved him into the interrogation chamber toward the sickly Stalker that normally carried out the endeavor.

Shephard's sense that something was off returned to him as the Stalker seemed to ignore his presence. The sound of someone else breathing in the room, shallow labored breaths, filled Shephard's mind with panic. The lights began to brighten until Adrian Shephard could make out the shape lying on the torture table in front of him, the tiny shape of a child. The child was likely not even a year old. The Stalker hovered it's grotesque appendages over the child waving them threateningly. Adrian though to fight back for a moment but he supressed the urge to kill the Stalker as it's hand lit up with electricity and sent a jolt through the child's body. The muscles in the child's legs spasmed uncontrollably as it's pained cries filled the chamber.

Shephard collapsed to the floor on his knees with tears in his eyes.

"I'll tell you whatever you want to know!" he said, "ANYTHING!"

"What makes you think you have information we want?" A Combine Elite asked entering the room with several Overwatch soldiers, "We just want to make you suffer, watching humans suffer brings our Masters pleasure."

"I mean it!" Shephard repeated as the Stalker relented it's shocking and Shephard breathed a sigh of relief at seeing the child was still very much alive.

"We have to kill all the children of your City," the Elite admitted, "It is our orders and this child is the first."

"Children are very previous to your species," one of the Overwatch chuckled, "So pathetic, so weak."

"We used to be the same species," Shephard replied through gritted teeth, "you sick fucks!"

"Shock the kid again," the Elite demanded and the Stalker obeyed.

All emotion left Shephard's mind in those moments listening to the pained cries of that child. As they dragged him from the room he heard them give the order to kill the child, indeed they were going to kill all the children. His muscles felt limp and tired, his soul empty and hollow, his life nothing but a futile attempt to avoid the ultimate truth – extinction. Maybe the human race was not built to, or meant to, survive. As they pushed and prodded him he found himself tripping and falling and hitting the cold steel of the corridor. Shephard lay there for a moment hoping they would put a bullet in his head and end his misery, but instead an armored hand reached down to help him up before they continued to push him along.

"Are you sure it will work?" Alyx asked though she hated to question the man she'd learn to respect as knowledgeable on almost everything.

"All of the calculations suggest that it will," Kleiner replied, "In theory it's foolproof, there are very few variables that could cause a back-fire."

"Back fire?" Barney asked, "I don't mean to discourage you Doc but the last time you said back fire a poor little pussycat was vaporized."

"I'm afraid the repercussions in this fails would be much worse," Kleiner replied grimly, "But the odds of it happening are minute."

"If it succeeds?" Theta asked lifting an eye-brow.

"Well the basic principle is one of quantum polarity," Kleiner explained, "The Combine used the weakening of the border between worlds after the Resonance Cascade to pull through the Citadels, their technology, even themselves. If I recreate the Black Mesa Incident with the crystals you brought to me it should have the opposite affect though how wide spread it will be is up for debate the subsequent wave of resonance should remove anything alien to our world, anything tunneled through from their reality."

"What do you think Julian?" Alyx asked.

"I don't see how we have much choice," Julian replied, "The Combine are on the way here, and in the scouts are right they are coming with thousands upon thousands. We don't stand a chance with the fighting force of a few hundred we have here, no offense."

"How long do we have before they attack?" Allison inquired.

"An hour maybe before the first wave hits us, there's at least a thousand troops outside our front-door already," Barney answered, "I hate to say it Izzy but Julian's right, if you don't do this we're fucked."

"Very well," Kleiner nodded, "The machine will take some time to fire up, I do recommend that you all stand over there behind the observation shield. Julian, if you like you can slip into the HEV suit and assist me in the experiment."

"You sure Gordon won't mind?" Julian asked with a smirk but the smile vanished from his face when the walls and floors began to shake, "I think we better get this under way."

"I think I better go, they'll need me in the fight if there's going to be one," Barney mentioned heading for the door.

Julian slipped into the Mark V as the others slipped behind the protection of the observation shield, a translucent form of metal that allowed for the safe observation of even the most dangerous experiments. Kleiner retreated the control booth which itself was protected by a blast shield. Julian eyed the crystal which seemed entirely innert and lifeless as it lie on the lab table in front of him. The ground was still shaking and the sounds of battle having been joined out in the corridor came wafting in. Soon those sounds were drowned out by the loud whir of the machine starting up.

"Alright Julian the anti-mass spectrometer is warmed up," Kleiner called through the PA system, "you may now start the rotors, the green switch on the left panel."

Julian flipped the switch without hesitation watching nervously as the rotors began to spin and the three main digits lowered down toward the floor. A bright beam of light suddenly shot from each of the three arms spiraling like the double-helix of DNA down from the apparatus to the material holder on the floor. The sound was almost deafening and smoke began to pour from the machine making Julian wonder if it wouldn't simply break down again. The assassin turned in a panic as the door to the laboratory burst open and in flew a fragmentation grenade. On instinct alone the assassin leaped into a roll and came up with the grenade tossing it back toward the door while simultaneously leaping away. Julian grabbed his silenced USP from atop his pile of clothes and brandished it toward the door as a dozen Combine soldiers tried stepped in through the smoke firing off their AR2s.

"We've reached 100%!" Kleiner called, "For goodness sake boy put the crystal into the beam!"

Julian felt the pulse round hitting him, penetrating the suit. He grabbed the crystal as pain shot through his body and raced toward the beam. With more and more pulse rounds heading his way he reached into the beam blindly and put the crystal into the material holder. It began to glow immediately though whether it was from the experiment or his touch Julian couldn't tell. The air around him began to dance and weave, the smoke in the room began to swirl like the twisting darkness of a tornado. Then came the first pulse outward, the bright blue crystal seemed to be shaking violently as that first shockwave reached out. Julian felt a second pulse round, then a third, as they attempted to bury into his flesh. Before they could dig in too deep though the shockwave him them and Julian could sense them dissolving away as if they simply ceased to be. He watched as the oncoming Combine fired off a Dark Energy grenade and then saw that same grenade vanish into incorporeal nothingness right before his eyes.

To the assassins' surprise the soldiers themselves did not disappear but every round of ammunition in their guns did. The second shockwave came soon after, this one sent a resounding thud shuddering through the entire facility. The Combine soldiers, now attempting to switch to their side-arms, decided that after the second shockwave of energy they would turn back and run the way they came.

"110%!" He heard Kleiner shouting, "It's working!"

The machine sputtered to a stop but not before one final shockwave boomed forth shaking the very bones of the Earth. Julian felt the sting of his wounds but luckily they didn't seem all that serious. He was lucky that he'd been wearing the HEV suit or he would most certainly be dead from the first bullet, he was equally lucky that the experiment had worked as the alien rounds were peeled from reality and taken right from his wounds. An injection of adrenaline from the suit brought him more than enough strength to get to his feet and head to a nearby first-aid set designed more for minor lab related injuries. Theta and the others soon emerged from behind the glass.

"They're retreating!" A familiar voice shouted from the hall, "Most of the poor bastards don't have any bullets!"

The source of the voice was Barney who entered a few moments later wielding a smoking M60 light machine-gun and wearing a wide-grin.

"You should have seen it!" Barney said, "They had drop-ships, gun-ships, Striders, Hunters, the whole sha-bang! They dissolved right before our eyes, each shockwave took more of them! I gotta get back out there and keep pushing those who are left back."

"We did it!" Theta proclaimed, "entire synthetic alien machines wiped right from our reality."

"Unfortunately we won't know just how well we did for a while," Julian remarked as he slipped off the HEV suit.

"You alright?" Allison asked him.

"I ain't gonna lie, it stings like hell," Julian said stealing a kiss from her soft lips, "but I've had worse."

"Good," Alyx remarked grabbing her gun, "Patch yourself up, there's still work to be done."

In those moments, as Shephard rose from the cold floor, all thought for his own life fled from his mind. Consumed by the memories of everything the Combine had ever done to the human race Adrian Shephard snapped. He started by elbowing the first soldier which, combined with hooking the Overwatch's leg, brought the Combine stooge crashing down. Without missing a beat Shephard bum-rushed the second soldier putting his forarm against the soldiers throat and pressing as hard as he could. The Combine soldier unhooked his baton and began kneeing Shephard in the gut. The attempts did nothing to deter Shephard even as the baton hit him he felt nothing, just numb hatred for the Combine and everything they stood for.

The second soldier was up by now and more were on the way he knew. Adrian Shephard just held down his arm until the first one was dead. He turned then to the second bashing his enemies face with his fists. The pain of hitting that hardened face mask with his bare fists was amazing but Shephard was numb, his pain receptors unresponsive. With the cries of that dying child ringing in his ears he punched as hard as he could. He likely broke a few bones in his hand but he also broke open the mask and left the Combine' soldiers sickly face as nothing more than a mash of blood-red flesh.

Three Combine came from the corridor ahead of him with their batons drawn. He scoffed at their weapons and rushed toward them tackling all three to the ground. He disarmed one and took the baton blows of the others soon turning that disarmed baton on all three of them. Their armor was resistant of course but not once he'd smashed through their eye plates.

He was already bleeding and now more Combine soldiers surrounded him. One came at him with an MP7 but Shephard side-stepped the bullets and shunted into the soldier with a powerful shoulder hit that crunched him against the steel wall of the corridor. Down the soldier went and up came Adrian Shephard with an MP7.

Now came the Elites brandishing their AR2s and ready to mow down the attempted escapee. Shephard didn't care if it ended like this, in fact in those moments he wanted it to end just like that. He didn't want to live in a world where the Combine could not be defeated, where a second genocide of children was about to take place.

Something happened then as Shephard closed his eyes and accepted his own fate. At first it was a faint rumbling under his feet but then the General opened his eyes as the aftershock nearly bowled him and his enemies over. The AR2 bullets were already being fired but Shephard noticed that as they inevitably veered toward him, as they moved in to guarantee his death, they became unsubstantial and then, simply, disappeared. The Elites stood flabbergasted as they tried to fire their now empty weapons. Adrian Shephard felt another shockwave occur and found himself suddenly standing before several defenseless enemies. He mowed them down with the MP7.

An alarm was sounding somewhere outside and it was completely different from the one that had sounded when he began attacking the soldiers. This wasn't a prison escape, he realized as he moved toward the exit, nor was it isolated to the prison at all. Something widespread was happening. Shephard soon found his way to the interrogation room, he found the Stalker lying dead, defunct, and without his bionic implants. The child wasn't dead however, though Shephard noted the burn marks the Combine bastards had left on it, it was very much alive.

For the first time in a very long time Adrian Shephard smiled a genuinely happy smile.

"Wherever you are kid, thanks," he whispered in the darkness.

Julian stood overlooking the field of victory with his arm wrapped around Allison and a look of satisfaction on his face. Reports were coming in from all over the region that told the same story every time. Anything that was not of this world, any object that was alien to our Universe, had vanished. The happiest report came from City 15 the nearest Combine stronghold, where the entire Citadel was rend from our reality and all the Combine soldiers inside were presumed dead. An attack plan to fully liberate the city was already underway with thousands of Resistance across Europe pledging their support.

"Reports are coming in from as far away as South Africa," Alyx said joining them.

"Adrian Shephard in City 12 has already sent word, it's been retaken by the Resistance. Just in time too it would seem, the Combine were planning to kill all the children there. Now at least ee have a chance," Julian said, "With the Citadels removed, with the Suppression Fields down, with the Combine in a world of confusion... we actually have a chance, we actually have a future."

"Thanks in no small part to mine and Alyx's messed up memories," Allison added, "And Theta's, where is she anyway?"

"Gone," Alyx replied with a sad look in her olive eyes, "She went to meet up with the survivors of Hunter's Fall... loyal to the end that girl, she cares more for them then she does for the opportunity to find more about her own past."

"I can't blame her," Allison defended, "sometimes we're better off not knowing."

"Are you sure about this?" Emil Nemico asked attempting to judge the distance between the edge of the rock on which he stood and the next one. It was a barely visible speck yet his Vortigaunt friend insisted it was the only way to get back to Earth.

"Gravity is not so great here the Emil Nemico!" the Vort shouted back from the other end having already successfully made the jump, "You can make the jump!"

Emil took a few steps back and got a running start. Perhaps if he still had his bionic legs the jump wouldn't have seemed so intimidating but having been thrust back into his ordinary mortal body by means unknown to him he wasn't sure of himself at all. The jump was immense and if he missed by even a foot he would simply descend into the infinite abyss below the mysteriously floating land masses that seemed to compose all of Xen. Shaking his head at the sheer insanity of it all he built up his speed once more and then launched himself through the low-G air - if it could be called air – and felt his feet touch down on a rock a few moments later. He nearly slipped off the edge but his Vort friend pulled him back from the bring of the cosmic chasm below.

"In there," the Vort said pointing to a cave, "I cannot accompany you, this is the start of your journey but the end of mine my friend."

"You're just going to stay here forever?" Emil asked hoping the Vortigaunt would reconsider.

"Or until the Temple is as dust," the Vort nodded, "you will find a man in the cave, he is said to have the secrets of the gate to Earth and how one can pass through it."

Emil watched his Vortigaunt friend leap from the rock he was on to another. The man was truly on his own now. He gulped nervously as he entered the cave and followed it's winding passages, illuminated by strange blue-white light that seemed to have no source, until he came to a massive cavern with a flattened out floor. A pool of brilliant azure liquid sat in the center with a resonant hum of warm harmonic sound emanating from it. That wasn't the most startling or bizarre thing Emil's eyes found to behold for forty feet above the pool, suspended in mid-air, was a man. His eyes were bright-white and a bushy white beard adorned his face. The man turned to regard Emil and Emil noted that despite his obvious age the man had musculature more common of a man in his prime.

"What brings you hear mortal?" A voice like a thousand voices asked.

"I'm looking for a way to get back to Earth, I was told that you were the only one who could help me, sir, or, god."

"I am no god," the old man replied, this time in an ordinary voice, "In fact I once had a name... but I digress. Yes, I can help you find your way home, if that is truly all that you seek."

"What IS your name?" Emil asked feeling his curiosity overcoming his fear.

"I was a great man of science," the old man replied with a deep sadness that seemed to shake the air of the cave, "now they call me Jurai, the mountain-dweller, but once I was known by another name. Morgan Eisley. Now come my son, it will take some time to prepare you to take the path home, considerable time indeed."


End file.
